


A Dance With the Bosses Right Hand

by redbirdy32



Series: A Gabriel Reyes/Reader Series [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Childhood Trauma, Cooking, Crying, Cunnilingus, Dry Humping, Established Relationship, Explosions, F/M, Finger Sucking, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Funeral, Grief/Mourning, Groping, Guilt, Gun Violence, Hallucinations, Healing from trauma, Horrors of trafficking, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Impotence, Is this a hurt/comfort?, Jealousy, Marriage Proposal, Masturbation, Mental Anguish, Mood Swings, Non-Consensual Touching, Oral Sex, Original Character Death(s), Outdoor Sex, Ring shopping, Rough Sex, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Loathing, Smut, Sobbing, Strangulation, Therapy, Therapy Dog, Vaginal Sex, Violent Outburst, Violent Sex, bathtub masturbation, description of past abuse, forced murder, violent sexual thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:06:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 103,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25513276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbirdy32/pseuds/redbirdy32
Summary: Gabriel starts running Blackwatch. Things go well initially, until an agent is brutally murdered on a mission. Gabriel wants revenge, but he may need you in order to get it.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Reader
Series: A Gabriel Reyes/Reader Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740118
Comments: 206
Kudos: 105





	1. Blackwatch is Official

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back ya'll. 
> 
> So to prevent any confusion, for the purposes of this AU, Blackwatch did not exist until this fic. It was something that was always in the works and that was alluded to in [**Caretaker**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113452) and [**The Wedding**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784786). 
> 
> As always, I suggest you go back and read the other fics in the series, they add context. [**Reassurance**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158104) and [**Charity**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278311) will be touched on heavily in this fic so I would start there.
> 
> ***Disclaimer: This work was written for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to endorse, represent, advocate for, or educate on any of the topics it touches on. Certain topics may be portrayed inaccurately in part or in whole. While all efforts are made to research certain subjects to portray them accurately, the research may be cursory, at best and may effect the real-world accuracy of the portrayal of certain topics. ***

Gabriel was quiet through dinner. Too quiet. His facial expression told you he had something on his mind and you waited patiently for him to finally come out with it. It wasn’t until you came out the closet after you had showered and gotten dressed for bed, that he seemed ready to talk. You could tell, because he was sitting in the middle of the bed, legs outstretched, a position he often took when he had something important to tell you. Any second now he’d be patting the bed between his legs telling you to come sit in front of him so he could look you in your eyes as he talked to you.

“Y/N,” he said, patting the bed between his legs, “Come here.”

You tried not to smile to yourself for being right. You climbed up on the bed and sat between his legs, facing him, your legs over his waist, knees bent, feet planted behind him. He looked at you for a minute then grabbed your chin pulling your lips to his as he kissed them. Then he wrapped his arms around your lower back holding you as he took a deep breath.

“So, remember when I told you things were going to change and that I’d tell you about it when I could.”

You nodded as you looked down and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, flicking your finger at a stray thread before you pulled it, snapping it off.

“Well I can tell you now. It’ll be made official tomorrow, but I’m going to be running a new division of Overwatch, called Blackwatch.” You looked at him, “This is something Jack and I have been working towards for a while now and the time has finally come. I’ll get to handpick my own agents and I’ll pretty much be able to run it how I see fit.” A smile came to your face.

“That’s amazing Gabriel, congratulations,” he smiled. “We should celebrate. Go to one of your favorite restaurants or something, invite Jack and Ana and-”

“Wait a minute,” he said, cutting you off. “I’m not finished.” His face went serious and he took a breath. “There are factions out there that Overwatch can’t touch because of its public profile. That’s where Blackwatch comes in. Nobody outside of Overwatch, not even the UN is to know about it. What we do needs to be covert and off-book.” 

“This sounds dangerous,” you said.

“Sometimes, it may very well be, but that's the job baby.” You looked at him, feeling a small pang of worry in your stomach and he put his hand on your cheek stroking it with his thumb. “I’m gonna be gone more often, running missions, some of time, out in the field.” You continued to silently look at him. He took a deep breath, his eyes trained on yours, then continued.

“I leave on my first mission tomorrow. I’ll be gone for three weeks.”

You inhaled sharply, eyes going wide as you looked into his, then looked down. You closed your eyes as a wave of fear, worry, and longing washed over you all at once.

“Look at me,” he said.

You looked up at him, eyes swimming with tears you struggled not to let fall. He pulled you to him in an embrace placing his hand on the back of your head as you laid against him putting your arms around him.

“I’m sorry,” you said, voice trembling as tears started to roll down your face, “I know this is what you do and I'm supposed to be able to handle this….I can handle this. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

Gabriel smiled slightly and started rubbing your back.

“I’m gonna miss you too baby. Go ahead and cry, get it all out your system now. But come tomorrow, no tears Y/N. Your tears can’t be the last thing I see before I get on that ship. I’m not gonna be able to focus otherwise. I need you to be strong for me. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” you sniffed. He pulled back from you and looked at you, wiping your tears with his thumbs as he smiled at you.

“My sweet girl…mi princesa.” 

He grabbed your hands and brought your fingers to his lips, kissing them before leaning forward to peck your mouth. 

“Ground rules for when I’m gone. First and foremost, stay out of trouble. You can wreak all the havoc you want when I’m home, but when I’m away, I need you to behave. Jack’s gonna be here looking out for you. If he tells you to do something to keep you out of harm’s way, listen to him. I can’t do what I have to do out there and worry about you too, so please, just do these things for me, alright?”

You nodded, still sniffling.

“I’ll try to contact you as much as I can, but communication has to be initiated one way. From me to you. Don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t send me anything unless I’ve initiated contact with you first, understand? It's safer that way." You nodded again, "It may be days before I can reach out to you sometimes. I need you to keep calm and wait for me, ok?”

Tears started falling from your eyes renewed as you nodded, looking down again.

“Look at me baby.” You looked up at him in his eyes. “I promise you, as long as I have breath in my body, I’ll do everything in my power to come home to you.” You whimpered quietly as you sobbed, vision blurring as you maintained eye contact with Gabriel through your tears. He grabbed your face and pressed his forehead to yours. “Always, I’ll always come home to you, you hear me? No matter what.”

“I love you,” you said, voice quivering.

“I love you too,” he said, pressing his lips to yours in a slow gentle kiss. 

You put your hands over his scooting forward, deepening the kiss, everything in you wanting to be so much closer to him, to meld him to you one last time before you lost his touch for three long weeks. 

As you kissed, you reached for his boxers, releasing his length as you pumped it with your hand feeling it grow to full-size within seconds. You came up on your knees, his face to your chest as you wrapped your arms around him. He ran his hands up the back of your thighs squeezing as he slowly caressed your skin making his way up to your asscheeks, squeezing and pulling them apart. He took himself in hand and lined himself up with your entrance. You moved one of your hands to his shoulder, the other pulled your panties to the side and you slowly lowered yourself onto his length. 

You clung to him, mouth opened wide letting out soft moans as he spread you open. He thrust up slowly until you were fully seated on him. You placed your hands on his cheeks as he wrapped his arms tighter around your back and you both sat still for a while, foreheads pressed together panting against each other's lips looking at each other, your eyes still wet from all the crying you had done. 

“Wait for me baby...promise you’ll wait for me.” He whispered. Your eyes started to well up again as you nodded. “I won’t be gone long. I’m coming right back to you." He pecked your lips, "When you get lonely, remember how much I love you.”

He thrust up into you. You moaned softly as you closed your eyes, tears slipping from them down your cheeks. He moved his hand up to cradle the back of your neck as he held you thrusting into you slowly as he whispered to you.

“You feel that?” You nodded. “Think about this when you miss me.” 

You pressed your lips to his and began to rock your hips meeting his slow thrusts. You broke the kiss and pressed your cheek to his closing your eyes, holding the back of his head, as you continued to cry while giving yourself over to the pleasure Gabriel was giving you.

The two of you continued to cling to each other as tears continued to fall from your eyes, Gabriel caressing and kissing you as you rocked with each other slowly for hours, savoring the feel of each other as you tenderly made love to one another, going until you both eventually found release. You laid on your sides kissing and looking at each other until you both fell asleep, unable to keep your eyes open any longer, your hands in his and your mouths still pressed together.

You went about your schedule the next day as normal, although a little anxious as the hours counted down to when Gabriel had to leave. 

That evening, you went to the hanger to see Gabriel off as he and the agents accompanying him loaded up onto the ship. He led you off to the side and reached into his pocket pulling out a cell phone, handing it to you.

“What’s this?” you asked, taking it.

“Your new phone. All communications from it are encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about anyone intercepting the nude pictures you're gonna send me.” You smiled as you put it in your pocket.

“Who said I was gonna do that?”

“If I ask for them, you'll send them.” you giggled.

“You keep thinking that, Gabriel.”

“You keep thinking you won’t.”

You smiled at him and he put his hand on your cheek stroking it, then pulled you into a tight embrace, hands roaming up and down your back. 

“I miss you already,” he said. He pulled back some and captured your mouth in a breathtaking kiss, then pressed his forehead to yours as you placed both hands on his face.

“Be safe out there...Come back to me," you said. 

“Always” he said, pecking your lips.

“I love you.” he said “I love you so much, never forget that.”

“I love you too.”

“Aww inn’t that sweet!” teased Jesse as he walked to the ship. Gabriel looked up at him.

“Shut up and get on the ship!” he spat at him. He turned back to you and caressed your cheek pecking your lips a few times. “I gotta go.”

He let you go and stepped back picking his bag up off the ground. He touched your cheek one last time.

“Go inside, don’t stand out here waving goodbye. From now on, we don’t ever do goodbyes, Y/N…..I’ll see you soon.” He kissed you again then released you. “Go.” 

You turned and walked back to the door to go back inside Overwatch, looking back as he watched you. You opened the door and blew him a kiss, then walked in and let the door close behind you.


	2. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homecoming sex, the best sex there is.

Gabriel had been gone about a week now and you lay in bed, asleep, his pillow in your arms, your face pressed into it. You had found that breathing in his scent had made the nights more bearable without him there, so you’d cling to his pillow when you went to bed, smushing your face into it, taking deep breaths through your nose, inhaling his smell, letting it comfort you. 

During the day, you’d walk around in one of his hoodies. It was huge on you, but you didn’t care. Wearing it simulated being in his arms for you and when your longing for him became unbearable, you’d go into his office and sit in his chair curling up in it. Pressing your nose into the leather, inhaling him in, as you wrapped your arms around yourself, imagining they were his. You didn’t know you could miss someone so much and the fact that you hadn’t heard from him since he had left made it even harder.

Your phone started to ring and you reached over to the nightstand to grab it, swiping your thumb as you brought it to your ear, half-sleep.

“Hello,” you mumbled.

“Did I wake you? I know it's late over there.”

The sound of Gabriel’s deep voice into your ear made you fully alert.

“Hey baby,” you said, a smile coming to your face.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I'm so glad you called. You ok out there?” 

“I’m all good over here.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” he replied, smile in his voice. “You holding up ok? Eating well? Getting enough sleep?”

You huffed a laugh

“Yes, Gabriel.”

“Good. I don’t want you falling apart because you miss me. I want you to take good care of yourself while I’m gone. You hear me?”

“I hear you….You too. Come back to me in one piece.” 

He huffed a laugh. 

“Doing my best.” There was a short pause. “You know, I dream about you. About laying in bed with you, touching your face.” You smiled. “Sometimes they seem so real, it almost hurts to wake up.”

“I dream about you too, holding me.” 

“I can’t wait to hold you again.” 

You heard a voice in the background but couldn’t make out what was being said.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming,” said Gabriel. “I gotta go baby. Sorry I woke you, but you don’t know how much I needed to hear your voice. Go back to sleep now, get some rest. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“See you soon baby,”

“See you soon.” 

He hung up.

Gabriel’s call and his subsequent texts the following week were like a lifeline for you and you clung to them, using them to ease the longing that rattled around in your stomach on a near constant basis. 

The days dragged on and sometimes it felt like the three weeks would never pass, but they did and you found yourself getting excited in the days that led up to Gabriel’s return. A current of frenetic energy ran through you and you channeled it into cleaning the condo, making sure everything was spic and span for his return. 

The night before he was to get back, you started cooking, making empanadas, churros, and agua fresca, his mother’s recipes she had shared with you, and Gabriel’s favorites. You also got pork marinating for birria, which you planned to throw in a slow cooker the next morning.

You went to Overwatch the next day, that same frenetic energy and excitement rolling around in the pit of your stomach, to the point of distraction. It made getting through your classes slightly difficult. You went home, showered, and changed into a pair of jeans you knew he loved to see you in and a blouse he had picked out on a shopping trip you went on a while back. You didn’t know why you were dressing up for him, knew that he’d be just as happy to see you in a paper bag, but you wanted to make his homecoming special. You finished up the birria and packed up all the food you had made and took it back to Overwatch, setting it up on the desk in his office where you sat and waited.

It was still early evening and the sun hadn’t quite gone down yet when Gabriel texted you to let you know they were getting ready to land. You shot up from his chair and ran to the hanger to see the ship slowly descend from the sky and park in the bay. Soon the door opened and agents started exiting the ship. Gabriel made his exit stopping at the end of the small ramp to turn and look at you, a smile on his face. He dropped his bag and held his arms open. You rushed to him like a madwoman and leapt into his arms and he caught you pulling you to him as you wrapped your arms and legs around him. He pressed his face into your neck and took a deep inhale.

“Ah you smell so good,” he exhaled, “Three weeks in a safehouse with a bunch of stinky sweaty men. You smell heavenly.” 

He started walking forward, holding you in his arms as you clung to him and started pressing kisses to his cheeks. He eyed Jesse just as he passed.

“McCree, grab my bag, bring it to my office.”

“Get your own bag. I’m beat,” Jesse said as he kept walking.

“McCree!” Gabriel said more forcefully. 

Jesse stopped in his tracks, rolling his eyes, and sighed deeply as he turned around to go back for Gabriel’s bag. Gabriel continued to walk forward, still holding you, as he kissed your cheek, smiling as you laid your head against him, clinging to him tightly, your hand on the back of his neck as he made his way inside Overwatch. 

Eventually Gabriel put you down and you held hands as you walked through the halls to his office. Jesse came walking up from behind the both of you quickly.

“Since your hands ain't full any more…” Jesse shoved Gabriel’s bag into his side and kept walking. Gabriel grabbed the handles before it tumbled to the ground.

“Don't forget, debrief in 30 minutes,” called Gabriel.

Jesse gestured his acknowledgment with a two finger salute without turning around, continuing on his way down the hall. 

Gabriel opened the door to his office and was greeted by the feast you had spread out across his desk and the good smells that filled the room. He smiled.

“What’s all this?”

“Your favorites. I figured you weren’t eating that great on your mission so I wanted to make sure you came back to a home cooked meal." 

He walked forward looking into each container. 

“You've been busy, Y/N. Is that birria?” 

"Mmm hmm." You came to stand next to him. 

"Wow." He put his arm around you, "You didn't have to do all this Y/N, but I'm so glad you did." He kissed your temple, "I'm starving."

"Well hurry up, sit." You gestured to his chair. 

He let you go and walked around the desk to have a seat. As he did, you picked up a paper plate and started loading it up with food, then set it down in front of him. You went to the cooler bag you had transported everything in on the floor and pulled out a pitcher of agua fresca and plastic cups and utensils. You handed him a fork before pouring him a drink and setting it next to his plate, then you took a seat in front of his desk across from him and fixed your own plate.

He started to dig into the birria first, bringing some to his mouth, before loading up a corn tortilla with the birria and toppings you brought to make a taco. He closed his eyes as he chewed.

"Mmmmm, this is so good Y/N, just like my mother's cooking."

"Well they're her recipes." 

Gabriel raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"We've been emailing each other since we visited. I've amassed a small collection since then."

He smiled. 

"Didn't know that...sneaky." You giggled a little. 

When he finished off his taco he picked up the empanada and took a bite.

“Oh that's good….Next time, I need a barrel of these empanadas smothered in the birria.” You laughed.

“I’ll see what I can work out.”

Gabriel continued to eat making appreciative sounds until it was time to go do the debrief with the rest of the agents who had gone on the mission. 

You both stood and he came around the desk putting his arms around you holding your lower back. You put your arms around him and looked up at him leaning your chin on his chest. He leaned down and pecked your mouth. 

"Thank you, that was delicious. The best meal I've had in weeks."

"You're welcome."

"I've gotta wrap up the loose ends of this mission, debrief, file reports, etcetera, etcetera."

"I'll wait for you here."

He smiled as he shook his head. 

"I'll be at this for awhile. As much as I'd love for you to stick around, looking as good as you do in those jeans…" you smiled as he grabbed a handful of your ass, "...I'd rather you go home and relax."

"If you say so."

"Don't wait up for me Y/N. Get your rest."

He put both hands on your face and lowered his lips to yours in a breathtaking kiss.

"Love you," he said softly. 

"Love you too."

He let you go and grabbed the container of empanadas. 

"Mind if I share these with the guys?"

"Nope."

"Good, cause I'm about to rip them all a new one. These'll be salve for the wound."

You laughed. 

"Leave the churros," he said, as he turned to leave. 

"Will do." you said, turning to the desk to put lids back on the containers and clean up. Gabriel left the office. 

Almost as soon as he had left he was coming back in, setting the empanadas down as he grabbed you and turned you around by your waist, pressing his lips to yours in a deep kiss. You put your hands on his cheeks as you both hummed, pressing tongues into each other's mouths, as he held you to him, his hands caressing your back. Then he grabbed your wrists and reluctantly pulled back, breaking the kiss. 

"Ok, I'm leaving," he said, you smiled. 

"Ok."

He grabbed the empanadas, looking at you as he backed out the room. 

"I'll be home as soon as I'm done." 

You nodded, then he turned and left. 

When Gabriel came home, much much later that night, you were on the bed fast asleep in your tank top and panties on top of the covers, your holopad next to you. Despite him telling you not to, you had tried to wait for him but had eventually succumbed to your tiredness. 

Gabriel quietly made his way to the bathroom to shower. When he came out freshly washed, towel wrapped around his waist, you were rolling over onto your stomach and settling in that position as you continued to sleep. 

He walked over to the bed, dropped his towel, and climbed onto it, getting on top of you, hovering over you as he straddled your legs. He reached for your tank top and gently began to lift it up, exposing your back, pressing kisses up your spine as he went, the tingles his lips set off up your back making you stir a little. He kissed a trail back down, shifting himself down the bed until he kissed to the waistband of your panties. He pushed one side of your panties into your crack showering kisses and light nips to your exposed cheek then did the same on the other side.

You sighed in your sleep as he took his kisses down the back of your thigh to the back of your knee, then licked down your calf to your ankle. He then came up the other leg doing the same in reverse. When he got back to your center, he pulled your panties to the side exposing your pucker. He blew on it, his warm breath extracting a hum from you before he pressed his tongue to it, lapping at it slowly.

You started lifting your hips off the bed some as your fingers closed around the pillow you were laying on. He smiled. He now had better access to your clit and he wasted no time touching the tip of his tongue to it, rolling it around in circles, sending jolts of pleasure through you. 

“Mmmmm,” you moaned, eyes still closed, becoming more alert as pleasure began to emanate from your core.

He flattened his tongue and licked between your folds up to your entrance.

“Oh my God,” you breathed softly. He did it again. “Gabriel,” you moaned, clutching the pillow in a death grip.

“You up?” he asked. 

“Yes,” you breathed, “More Gabriel, please, give me more.”

He licked at you again making you whine, before he sat up and climbed off the bed. He grabbed your waist rolling you over, then pulled you to the edge of the bed, yanking off your panties over your legs and feet and tossing them to the side. He pushed you legs open, taking himself in hand, his thick member dripping pre-cum, and lined himself up with your entrance before he shoved in, as you let out a shout, your slick warmth enveloping him, making his skin break out in goosebumps.

“Fuck Y/N,” he groaned, “You feel so good.” 

He sat there for a moment savoring the feel of you around him, his thumbs stroking your hips as he held them, before he slowly pulled back to his tip, a desperate whine escaping your lips at the loss, then slowly pushed into you, making you arch off the bed as you closed your eyes, an explosion of sensation going off inside you as he filled you again.

“Not truly home....” he breathed as he pulled back again, and thrust back into you a little quicker this time. “...Until I’m inside you...,” he did it again “...now I’m home...,” again but quicker, “...missed you,” even quicker still. 

He kept thrusting, speeding up the pace and increasing the power behind each pump until he was quickly pounding into you, your skin smacking together as you gripped the sheets in your hands, arching and throwing your head back as you moaned. The force of his thrusts pushing you forward and back and forward and back. He reached forward placing his hand on the side of your face, the way he had dreamed many times, his thumb on your lips, and you took it into your mouth, sucking and humming as he continued to quickly slam into you. 

Eventually he started to slow and come to a stop. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around you lifting you up. You wrapped your legs around him as he turned you both around, sitting down with you on the edge of the bed. He was still inside you and he looked at you as he sat there holding you. You grabbed his face pressing your lips to his, kissing him hard as you planted your knees on either side of him, hooking your feet on his thighs, and began to lift and drop yourself on his dick. 

You kissed each other wildly as you bounced, your hands all over his face, tongues everywhere licking in and out of each other's mouths, sucking and nipping at them, as you moaned and panted into each other's faces. Gabriel began to meet your movements with thrusts of his own, his arms pulling you down onto him, and you moved together faster and faster until you could do nothing but hold onto him and feel every inch of him jackhammer rapidly up into you. 

His rapid thrusts snatched away your ability to think and to breathe and you wanted to scream but you couldn’t figure out how to make the sounds so your mouth just hung open as he sucked your bottom lip into his mouth and released it. He slowed a bit and began to slide off the bed to the floor, his arms wrapped around you, taking you with him. He laid you onto the floor and pulled out of you, then flipped you onto your stomach, pulling you up so you were on all fours.

He took himself in hand and reentered you, running his hands up under your tank top, caressing your back, making you shudder and arch against his touch. He slid his hands down your sides to your hips and gripped them tightly as he began to quickly and shallowly pump into you. He started to pull back more and the more he pulled out of you and thrust back in, the slower and harder his thrusts became until he set a rhythm of slow, hard, brutal pumps that rocked you forward, forcing the air and sound out of your mouth, each moan a loud, “HAA!” as you gripped the carpet.

“Mmmm baby you sound so good.” He started to speed up, the same power behind his movements, and your moans became longer and more drawn out the faster he went. “There you go baby, sing for daddy.”

Soon he was back to jackhammering into you as you keened, struggling to stay up right. You were close and he could feel it as he kept up his relentless pace. He slapped your ass and you came apart, screaming at the top of your lungs as waves of pleasure consumed your body, making you tense and shake, and curl your toes and stretch out your fingers to the point that they hurt but you felt so delicious that you ignored the pain.

Gabriel was still thrusting but he could feel you gripping him and pulsing around him rapidly as you climaxed and he had missed that squeeze from inside you so much over the last three weeks. He had caught himself thinking about it during the odd moments of down time and he had done everything he could to banish the thoughts away, lest he cease to function properly. But now he didn’t have to imagine, he could feel what he had longed for for days on end and it felt so fucking good; and now his balls were drawing tight and he was slamming into you and,

“Ahhh! Fuck! Leg Cramp!” he shouted as he almost collapsed on you, gripping you hard to keep himself upright. “Ugggh!”

“Gabe?” you said, concern in your voice as you looked back. You started to move so you could turn and help him and he held you in place.

“Don’t move, don’t move,” he huffed, “I’m still cumming,” he panted. “It hurts so bad, but it feels fucking amazing,” You started to laugh. “Keep laughing, that feels good too,” he said, which only made you laugh harder.

“Are you done yet?” you giggled.

“I think so...just, just crawl out the way so I can lay down.”

You moved forward so his softening penis fell out of you then moved off to the side as he reached for the floor and began to lower himself to it onto his stomach. You turned around coming up on your knees and moved over to him.

“Does it still hurt?” you asked.

“Right here.” He pointed to the back of his thigh and you started to massage, “I’m too fucking old for this shit.” You giggled.

“You could always slow down, not go as hard,” you said. He crossed his arms under his chin and rested it on them.

“Where’s the fun in that?” You shook your head continuing to massage his thigh.

“Welcome home baby, welcome home.”


	3. Coming and Going

Overwatch was all abuzz about Blackwatch and its newest members, especially the recruits. They now had something to work harder toward and look forward to at the end of their training. 

Membership in Blackwatch was by invitation only and Gabriel only wanted the best of the best. Prior to announcing Blackwatch, Gabriel had tapped several recruits he thought showed promise and were finishing up with training for membership, he also reached out to current agents whose talents he thought were better utilized on his side of the fence. The response had been positive. The recruits got additional training to handle the situations they’d be presented with on Blackwatch missions and current agents were put on teams and sent out into the field. 

With his first mission as leader under his belt, Gabriel thought things were going pretty well thus far. He had several operations underway and he had a never ending list of people and organizations to go after for all manner of illegal and downright heinous activities. Life was busier than ever, but that also came with an uptick in headaches. 

A few weeks after his return, he was working in his office with the door closed when Jessica burst through it.

“I have a bone to pick with you,” she said.

He blinked and looked up at her. 

“Do you not know how to knock?”

“Why are you sending me on this recon mission with Jesse? Like he’s my freaking chaperone, and him of all people? I wouldn’t trust him to babysit a rock.”

Gabriel sighed and looked at his watch.

“Can I at least get through my morning peacefully without you coming in here questioning my decisions?”

“Can you make better decisions?” He rolled his eyes.

“We’ve talked about this, you're not ready to go on missions on your own yet. McCree has a lot of experience doing recon. You didn’t hear me say this, but you could learn a few things from him.”

“Him?! That bonehead!? You have got to be kidding me.”

“I’ve known him long enough to know that if you give him a chance, he might just surprise you. Let him surprise you Jessica.”

“I’d rather choke.” He sighed and looked back down at his holopad.

“Well go choke somewhere else. You're noisy and I’m trying to work.” She stared at him. “Goodbye Jessica.” He said without looking up.

She huffed a breath and stomped out of his office, closing the door behind her.

It had been like that with a lot of the newer agents, just barely out of training and eager to bite off more than they could chew. The only one who didn't give him that kind of trouble was Tony. 

Tony was all about baby steps, learning to crawl before he walked. He was all about mastering a thing and building upon it before moving up to the next level. Plus, he didn't give Gabriel a lot of backtalk. He did what he was told and gratefully too. While Gabriel never played favorites, he did secretly have a list of agents he liked more than others and Tony was easily in the top five. 

It was for this reason that he had planned to start running missions with Tony and a few other agents in the near future. There was a project he thought Tony would be perfect for, he just had to get all the prerequisite work done before he brought Tony and the others, which included Jessica, in. Maybe then she'd stop complaining so much about her assignments. 

A month went by before Gabriel was getting ready to shove off on another mission. Just like the first time he left, you cried the night before and he held you, comforting you and reassuring you he'd be right back. Again, you saw him off in the hanger. Again, you waited patiently for him to contact you and again and you ached and longed for him. 

You were waiting for him when he came home, greeting him with hugs and kisses and a home cooked meal. You went home. He showed up much later, showered, then made love to you for hours until you both couldn't keep your eyes open any longer. 

Time passed and the routine was about to repeat itself, but Gabriel wanted to do things a little different this time. 

As he sat on the bed with you, holding you while you cried, he wondered if maybe he could do something to lessen your tears. He didn’t mind you falling apart when he had to go, but at some point you had to get used to him coming and going on a regular basis. He thought he’d do something with you, let you express yourself in a way you maybe felt you couldn’t and once you got it all out maybe his leaving wouldn’t be filled with so many tears and so much heartache on your part.

He held you back looking at you wiping the tears from your face as you calmed a bit. He took a deep breath, letting you calm some more before he spoke.

“Ask me.” he said. You sniffed.

“What?” 

“Go ahead and ask me Y/N.” You looked at him for a minute and started to open your mouth to speak. “Wait,” he said, looking deep in your eyes. "I'll only indulge you in this one time. Just this once Y/N, you can ask me. Ask me to do the impossible. Beg me. Get it out of your system now and then never ask me again. You understand?" You nodded. There was a long pause. "Go ahead," he said.

“I...I can’t. This is cruel Gabriel. No matter what I say, the answer will be the same. Why would you want me to put myself through that?"

“It’s cruel for me too, Y/N. The whole situation is cruel. Having to leave you, having to cause you pain, watching you go to pieces everytime I do, it hurts me Y/N and you having to let me go despite how much it hurts you….It’s cruel for us both, but this is our reality, there’s no way around it. This is what it is to be together so for right now go ahead and be cruel.” 

You looked at him for a minute then took a deep breath before you started to speak.

"Gabriel," you said slowly, "don't go," you whispered, “Stay with me...please.” 

You moved your hands to his arms gripping his biceps.

"Please Gabriel don't leave me alone. Please...stay." Your voice cracked as you started to become overwhelmed with emotion. "Stay with me Gabriel, please...don't leave." 

You started to cry again as you continued to plead and beg him to stay. You had never felt more vulnerable than in this moment as you expressed what you promised yourself you would only let yourself feel when you were alone, where you wouldn’t feel tempted to ask for something you felt you had no right to. Gabriel was right, this is what came with being with him, this is what you signed up for. Asking him to do otherwise felt wrong on some level. But those were your feelings and you had been determined to choke on them for all eternity, until now. 

You looked in his eyes and he silently looked back at you, stroking your face, wiping at the tears that kept falling, rubbing your arms as you clung to him, bringing your hands to his lips to kiss, his eyes almost sad.

"Please stay with me, I'll do anything, just don't leave me….please Gabriel….please."

Oh no! This was a bad idea. Why had he suggested it? He thought he was doing a good thing, letting you express yourself with gut level honesty. Letting you say out loud what you'd never voice unless he had given you the permission and room to do so. It wasn't the first time a woman had asked him or begged him to shirk his duties and stay with them. Those times he had found it irritating and it was because of his previous reactions he thought he could handle you doing it, thought it would just roll off him like water off a duck's back. But he had forgotten who he was dealing with, forgotten how different everything was with you, forgotten how dangerous you were. You exposed him and made him vulnerable in ways no one ever had and he had now made a huge mistake.

Something about your pleading was unexpectedly and utterly heartbreaking. Maybe it was the way you spoke just barely above a whisper so it sounded more like you were praying to some deity rather than talking to him. Maybe it was the tears rolling down your beautiful face. He really couldn't stand to see you hurt, really couldn't bear to see you cry. Maybe it was because this was the one thing he couldn't give you. Anything else, he'd move heaven and Earth to make sure you had it, would do anything to fulfill your every want and need. Anything but this. Whatever it was, your pleading tore at his soul and he was having a difficult time tamping down his emotions. He had to make you stop.

He grabbed your chin and pressed his lips to yours, cutting you off mid-sentence. As he closed his eyes a tear fell from each one and rolled down his face.

 _Shit_ , he thought. _How does she keep doing this? How does she keep crashing through walls it's taken me years to erect, walls it's taking me just as long to let down on my own._

As he pulled away from your lips, you looked at him and raised your hands to his face to wipe his tears. He grabbed your hands in each of his clutching them to his chest as he pressed his forehead to yours. 

"I would if I could," he whispered, "You don't know how badly I want to stay here with you, if I could Y/N." 

He grabbed your face and pecked your lips. Looking in your eyes. You both sat like that for a while, just looking at each other, feeling raw and open. You both eventually laid down with each other clinging to one another, stroking each other's faces as you kissed and looked at each other tenderly. 

This wasn’t at all how Gabriel had planned for the night to go, but that's how things always were with you. He’d make plans and you’d smash them all to hell. He smiled as he thought about it and you caught it. 

"What are you thinking about?" you asked. 

"How much I love you."

"I love you too," you said. 

He wrapped his arms around you pulling you to his chest. 

"I know you do." He kissed your forehead. "Get some rest."

The next day Gabriel left and you missed him just as much as the first time. But the next time he was getting ready to leave there was a shift. Instead of shedding tears you channeled your energy into getting on top of him and fucking his brains out and he found he preferred that more than the tear-filled but tender moments you had had before. 

As time went on you got used to Gabriel having to leave. Now he could just mention it in conversation and he was met with a simple "Ok" and that was the end of it. You'd still fuck each other the night before, like you'd never get the chance to again, but it wasn't filled with so much angst and handwringing. 

You still cooked for him when he came back but sometimes you didn't always go into Overwatch to greet him. Sometimes the meals you cooked weren't always so elaborate either, but still something you knew he enjoyed. Sometimes you didn’t always dress up for him. Sometimes he'd come home to you waiting for him wearing nothing at all and you'd go to sleep just as the sun was coming up wearing hickies and teeth marks instead. 

Soon you just became comfortable with the fact that this is what Gabriel had to do. You didn't miss him or worry about him any less but an acceptance of your circumstances settled in. 

You found that when you were together you both made more of an effort to be present with each other and you cherished the time you got to spend with each other more. It brought you much closer and you found the less he could tell you about what he actually did in Blackwatch the more he started to open up to you and tell you things he had never shared before about himself but only the teensy tiniest bit. It was a start and you let him go at his pace and didn't push for more than he was willing to give. 

Sometimes on rare occasions, when he was feeling really unguarded, he’d open up to you about his interactions with certain members of Blackwatch. He'd gush about something Tony did that impressed him, his voice dripping with pride. He'd talk about Jessica's constant complaints about not being able to work more independently. He'd talk about Jesse, how happy he was, despite him being as obnoxious as always, to see him stepping up to the plate on missions, and he was always impressed with Genji's focus and dedication, even though he thought he let Jesse drag him into the trouble he caused around Overwatch too often. You could tell Gabriel loved what he did in Blackwatch and he loved the people he led. He was invested in all of them, some of them, as if they were his own and it warmed you to see that side of him, because it wasn't a side he showed very often. 

Gabriel would sometimes joke that Blackwatch was the best thing that could have happened for your relationship. But sometimes you wondered if something wouldn't happen to challenge that notion, if one day Blackwatch could be the very thing to tear you two apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a refresher and for those who may not know, we were introduced to Jessica and Tony in [**Reassurance**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158104).


	4. A Sit Down with Mr. Bacchelli

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It gets violent and bloody in this chapter. For those that are sensitive, please keep that in mind.

Months later Gabriel, Jesse, Tony, Jessica and Genji were days into their mission. Their person of interest was Vincenzo Bacchelli, number two in the Bacchelli Crime Family. The fact they dealt in drug and weapons smuggling was bad enough, but Blackwatch’s focus was on Vincenzo and his human trafficking ring. 

Amerigo Bacchelli, head of the family, was old school and had a bit of a moral code which precluded him from ever involving the family in that sort of thing. This was a side business Vincenzo got into all on his own. Amerigo knew about it and it seemed odd that he wouldn’t put a stop to activities he hadn’t given his blessing to, but Vincenzo was his favorite nephew and his right hand, so he turned a blind eye. If Amerigo wasn’t going to do anything to stop his nephew, then it was up to Blackwatch to do it themselves.

At the moment, the members of Blackwatch were in a van blocks away from a restaurant Vincenzo was known to do business in and they were about to send Tony in for a sit down with him. 

Previous missions had laid the groundwork for today. It all started with Gabriel turning a smuggler who went by the name Daniel Azucar. Daniel had been doing business with Vincenzo for years but they had never met face to face, always communicating via liaisons and encrypted messages. Gabriel had convinced Daniel to come over to their side and help them take Vincenzo down and Daniel provided the information that had led to their being in Italy today. There was supposed to be a large auctioning off of young girls going down soon, Daniel had been invited, but Vincenzo wanted to do a sit down to put a face to a name first before he divulged the details about where and when this auction was to take place.

This is where Tony came in. The goal was to embed a member of Blackwatch into the auction and possibly the inner sanctum of Vincenzo's confidence. Tony was to impersonate Daniel, go to the meet, chat Vincenzo up and get the details on the auction. He was perfect for the job, as he resembled Daniel and had his speech patterns and accent down to a science, plus Tony was naturally charming and could get anyone to open up to him. 

He got out the van in a black suit, hair slicked back and started walking toward the restaurant. As he walked he kept adjusting his button down shirt.

“For the love of God, Tony. Stop fucking with the damn shirt!” said Gabriel, speaking into a comm as he watched monitors in the van. They had put a camera in one of Tony’s buttons so they could see what was going on in the restaurant. They had also equipped Tony with a micro comm that was currently in his ear and unseeable to anyone that wasn’t examining his ears closely. It provided sound for the camera and also allowed Tony to hear Gabriel talk to him.

“Sorry,” said Tony, putting his hands at his side as he went to the restaurant entrance and went inside. He went to the hostess stand and gave her his assumed name and she led him through the restaurant to a private room where Vincenzo was already sitting at a table with two men standing guard against the wall next to the entrance to the room. When Tony came to the room Vincenzo stood, going to shake Tony’s hand.

“Daniel?" Tony nodded, "It's good to finally meet you in person...sit, ” said Vincenzo, gesturing to a chair to the right of the one he had been sitting in. He then snapped his fingers at the hostess. 

"Bring him a bowl of bolognese," she nodded and left. 

Vincenzo was already working on a bowl himself. He retook his seat. 

"The bolognese here is perfection. Something everyone should eat before they die. You eat bolognese?" he asked as he picked a wine bottle up and poured into a glass in front of Tony. 

"Sure," said Tony. 

A minute or two later the hostess came back with a bowl of pasta for Tony and set it in front of him. 

"Anything else for you Mr. Bacchelli?" she asked. 

"Close the door on your way out," said Vincenzo watching Tony as he began to eat. She nodded and took her leave. 

Vincenzo stared at Tony for a minute before he began to speak. 

"All these years doing business together, we finally meet, eh?" He said with a smile. Tony looked up from his bowl and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Yeah, wonder why it's taken so long?" said Tony. 

"Well, you know me, always careful, always cautious. My trust is not easy to come by."

"Even after years of never steering you wrong, keeping my word, and delivering on time without fail? Vincenzo, you hurt my feelings," Tony said laughingly. Vincenzo smiled as he lifted his wine glass and took sip. 

"What can I say? I'm a man of many enemies, sometimes I barely trust those that are closest to me."

"A smart proposition given our line of work."

"Good job building up an initial rapport, now start steering the conversation towards the auction. Ease into it though, make it come across as a natural transition. You're doing good so far…and not so much pasta, you're not there to stuff your face," said Gabriel into Tony's ear. Tony tried not to smile. 

"Speaking of our line of work, I was a little bothered you didn't want to use my supply lines for your event you have coming up. Are they not to your liking?" asked Tony. 

"I meant no disrespect. It's just….the tastes of the bidders are….should we say….highly specific. They're predilections are a little outside of what you currently offer. Not that what you offer hasn't always been of the highest quality. But I have to give the people what they want, no?"

"Understandable. So is that why there's all this secrecy about the details?"

"More or less."

"You plan on filling me in?" asked Tony.

Vincenzo stared at Tony as Tony reached for his wine glass and took a sip. Suddenly Vincenzo started to laugh and Tony smiled, not really sure what was so funny. Vincenzo looked at one of his guards.

“He’s good, yes? Like Hollywood actor.” he said. Tony didn’t quite catch his meaning.

Gabriel sat up alert, a pang of panic hitting his stomach as he watched the monitors. Jessica had been sitting next to him listening and watching as well and she was startled by Gabriel’s sudden movement.

Vincenzo continued to laugh then picked up his glass taking a sip of his wine. Suddenly he snapped his fingers and his guards rushed from behind Tony, holding him down in his chair and grabbing his arm, laying his hand flat on the table, the commotion knocking out the feed to the button camera. Vincenzo picked up his steak knife and plunged it through Tony's hand. Tony screamed in pain and Vincenzo leaned in close to him.

“Daniel told me to say, “Hello,” said Vincenzo

“Shit! He’s blown! McCree, Genji get to the back of the building!" yelled Gabriel jumping into gear, grabbing his gun as Jesse and Genji rushed from the front of the van. He bolted from the back, running down the street to the restaurant. He burst into the main entrance startling the hostess as he rushed past her, following the path he had seen Tony take to get to the private room. When he got there, everyone was gone. There was no trace of Vincenzo or Tony other than the large blood stain that had been created on the white tablecloth. 

"McCree, Genji, they coming your way?" 

"No activity back here boss," said Jesse. 

“Keep me posted.”

Gabriel noticed a blood trail leading from the table to the floor. His eyes followed it out the door and then his feet started to quickly follow it as well. It led to a door for a stairwell and continued down the stairs. 

"Jessica, check the blueprints, tell me where this stairwell leads," Gabriel said, as he started to follow the blood trail down it. A minute or two passed. 

"There's no stairwell on any of these blueprints," she said.

"Fucking Daniel!" Gabriel shouted. He went down flight after flight until he reached what he assumed was the basement level, because the only way he could go was out a door. 

When he got to it, he noticed something on the ground. It looked like meat, no flesh. Then he realized what it was, Tony’s ear. It suddenly occurred to him that he could no longer hear Tony’s pain filled screams through his comm, because Tony’s comm was still attached to his ear. 

Gabriel took a deep breath and raised his gun before carefully opening the door, putting his gun through the entrance first, before himself as he carefully looked left and right. He was in an underground garage. It was quiet, not many cars were parked down there. He spotted a speck of blood and then another and another, he slowly followed it to an empty parking space where the trail went cold.

_Knock knock knock…...knock knock knock._

“Who is it?” came a voice from the other side of the door. 

“Delivery for Mr. Azucar,” said Gabriel, changing the pitch of his voice. 

Gabriel heard the door being unlocked from the other side. The doorknob started to turn and when the door opened a crack, Gabriel lifted his foot and kicked it in, making the door hit Daniel in the face, knocking him on his back to the ground. 

Gabriel walked in coolly, Jesse, Genji, and Jessica following behind him. As he walked in, he reached down and grabbed Daniel by his hair and started to drag him as he made his way through his hotel suite. Daniel cried out in pain, fear on his face as his legs flailed, his hands reaching for Gabriel’s, trying to pry him off.

“You know, I really hate liars, but what I hate even more is fucking traitors,” said Gabriel as he dragged Daniel to the bedroom. He pulled him inside and closed the door.

Jesse, Genji, and Jessica mulled about the hotel suite parking themselves on couches and chairs, twiddling their thumbs and stretching. Jessica was laid across a chair, her legs over the arm, looking at her nail’s, biting at them, trying to make them all even in length. Genji was sharpening his sword. Jesse had one of Daniel’s bags on the couch, rifling through his things, taking them out and making judgmental hmm’s and mmm’s as he looked at each item. 

All of them were acting nonchalantly as if the screams and commotion emanating from the bedroom were just background noise, as mundane as the siren of a firetruck going by outside. After several minutes the screams stopped and the door opened. Gabriel came out, wiping his hands on a white towel that was quickly turning red and everyone looked at him.

“I know where Tony is,” Gabriel said as he tossed the towel to the side. “Jessica, McCree, you're with me. Genji, you stay with this asshole, make sure he doesn’t get any messages back to Vincenzo….although that might be hard to do with ten broken fingers.”

They all stared at him.

“Let’s go,” he said heading for the door. Jessica and Jesse hopped up and followed behind him.

They all ended up at what looked like an abandoned slaughterhouse. There were strips of clear PVC plastic hanging from many of the doors and rooms with hooks that meat had obviously hung from. Gabriel had entered the building through a front entrance and had directed Jessica and Jesse to come in through the back. He went through room after room, expecting to be greeted with gun fire, but it was quiet and he realized no one was there. He came to what used to be an operational freezer and pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by the stench of blood. Then he saw Tony. He put his hand to his mouth. 

“God damn it. Tony,” he closed his eyes. “Fuck!” he yelled his fist pounding against the wall.

Tony was laying on a metal table, his eyes wide open, dried blood on the side of his face from where his ear had been cut off. His mouth was ajar and deep red blood had coagulated on his chin. Gabriel took notice of Tony’s tongue lying on the ground underneath the table. His eyes then traveled to where Tony’s shirt had been ripped or cut open, his stomach now a gaping hole, a mass of intestines and other organs cascading out of it. There was blood everywhere, dripping from the table, puddling on the floor, each drop creating an ambient soundtrack for the visual horror show that was Tony’s disfigured body. 

Gabriel took a deep breath and hung his head. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming toward the room. He instinctively turned and lifted his gun, ready to shoot whoever it was. Jessica suddenly appeared in the entrance holding her gun in both hands pointed downward. He lowered his gun. She looked at him.

“No one’s here,” she said.

“I know.” 

She scrunched her face and leaned to the side looking around Gabriel, getting a glimpse of Tony’s head.

“Oh my God! Is that Tony!?”

Gabriel quickly reached out with one hand and grabbed her, pulling her to him, putting his arm around her, pressing her to him so she couldn’t see past his body. He held her as he started to back her out the room.

“Is that Tony?!” she repeated, starting to struggle against him to get out of his grasp as he backed her out past the threshold of the door and turned.

“He’s gone Jessica.” 

“But-” she kept struggling as he kept his hold on her, backing her a short distance down the hall from the freezer before he let her go. She looked up at him, confusion and defiance on her face.

“You don’t need to see him like that,” he said. 

She kept looking at him, and he saw the moment the reality that Tony was dead hit her. Her shoulders visibly slumped and she looked down, nodding.

Jesse came running up the hall.

"I don't think Tony's here. I don't think anybody's here," said Jesse coming to a stop next to Jessica. 

"Tony's here," said Gabriel looking at Jesse.

Jesse looked at Gabriel, at his disappointed facial expression and understood. He hung his head with a sigh, taking off his hat. "Shit."

“Both of you, do me a favor? Go to the van, get the disposable gloves, a plastic tarp, duct tape, and a body bag.” Jessica looked at him in confusion. “We have to bring him home.” 

She took a deep breath and nodded, then both her and Jesse turned and headed to the front of the building to the van.

Jessica stood watch to the side of the door in the hall while Jesse did the same just outside the entrance to the building. Gabriel went in the room and proceeded to wrap Tony’s body in the plastic tarp and duct tape. He then placed it in the body bag and zipped it up, using the handles to carry him out. 

He picked up Genji and Daniel, who had been restrained by his arms and legs, and made his way to an abandoned airfield where they all silently and solemnly waited for transport back to Overwatch.


	5. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for rough sex at the end.

Everyone was silent on the way back to Overwatch and the silence remained once they got there and dispersed to their respective rooms. Gabriel handed Daniel over to be locked up and dropped Tony’s body off in the small morgue in med wing, then he made his way to his office. He sighed as he sat down in his chair and pulled a bottle of whiskey out from the bottom drawer of his desk. He unscrewed the bottle, not caring to bother with a glass, and took a big gulp from it, thinking to himself.

When he finally made his way home, you were fast asleep. He sat down on his side of the bed and stared into the dark, mind far far away. He sat for what seemed like hours, before taking a deep breath and reaching down to remove his shoes then his shirt. He stood and removed the rest of his clothes and made his way to the shower. 

Blood that had soaked through the front of his clothes and got onto his skin ran into the drain as he stood under the hot spray, staring off into space. Eventually he snapped to the present and washed up and got out. He toweled off and got a pair of boxers out of his dresser, slipping them on before getting in the bed. He laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling.

You rolled over into him and you realized you weren't in bed alone.

“Gabe?” you said tiredly.

“Go back to sleep Y/N.” You became more alert.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you back until the end of the week.”

“Well, when you lose an agent on your mission, plans change.” Something about his voice seemed so off that you almost failed to register what he'd said. 

You couldn't see him in the darkened room. He sat silent. 

You moved to lay on his chest, wrapping your arm around him, squeezing him. 

“Baby I’m so sorry.”

He took a breath.

“It was Tony.”

“What!?” you said in shock. “What?” you said again, this time in disbelief, voice trembling as your eyes started to fill with tears. “No. No.” You started to cry.

He turned to the side and wrapped his arms around you rubbing your back as you sobbed. 

You got to know Tony well from Gabriel using him to help train you and you both had gotten pretty close. He used to come to you to get advice on girls and life and you thought of him like the little brother you never had. You felt protective of him like you were his big sister. You loved Tony. He was funny, charming, kind, and thoughtful and you found his hero worship of Gabriel cute and amusing. It hurt you deeply to hear he was now dead. 

Gabriel loved Tony just as much as you did, though he would never say it out loud to anyone, but right now he found he couldn’t fully grieve for him just yet. Right now he couldn't cry, he couldn't feel, he was numb and it occurred to him that he was just going through the motions, even now while he was comforting you. But he'd experienced enough death and loss to know that this would pass soon enough and the dam would break and he'd grieve for Tony properly. But right now there was too much to think about and do. 

Right now it comforted him enough just to be holding you even if you were falling apart in his arms. He needed to hold on to you, needed the little bit of warmth you provided because right now he felt cold. He held you until you cried yourself back to sleep and continued to hold you while you slept, but he couldn't sleep himself. He just laid there staring into the dark. 

Very early the next morning Gabriel got up, got dressed and packed a light bag. He went to Overwatch, got on a ship and headed to Texas, where Tony's parents lived. Death notifications were always done in person and they usually had a dedicated two-person team dispatched from the nearest base to conduct them, but Gabriel felt compelled to do this one himself. 

He had been in the air for nine hours but when he landed in Houston it was still early morning with the time difference. The Houston base was much smaller than HQ, but the barracks were a lot nicer and much larger, big enough to have full sized beds in them instead of the smaller beds they had back at HQ. 

He got settled into a room, then went to have a sit down with the notification specialists to go over how things would go and what to do in the event things went unexpectedly. People reacted differently when notified of the death of a loved one. Most of the time there were tears but every so often someone would react violently, brandish a weapon, try to physically assault the specialists. Being prepared and knowing what to do beforehand went a long way toward keeping the situation calm. After the meet he went back to his room to freshen up and get dressed. He put on his uniform then met up with the specialists to make their way out to Tony’s parents home.

Tony’s parents ran a small cattle ranch and when Gabriel and the notification specialists pulled up to the main house they were already outside on the wrap around porch, taking a break from a morning full of tending to the cows. They stood when they saw Gabriel and one of the specialists get out of the car. He climbed the stairs to the porch and stood in front of them introducing himself then gave them the news. 

Tony’s father turned from him hand to his mouth as he walked to the far side of the porch and began to sob. His mother stood there silently for a moment before her legs gave out. Gabriel caught her and helped her over to a bench on the porch to sit down. She clung to him before turning into his chest to scream and wail and sob. 

Gabriel sat there, comforting her through her grief, rubbing her back and holding her hands. The whole time he was stoic, unemotional. He sat there for a while before Tony’s father came over and sat next to his wife, taking over the job of comforting her. Gabriel stood, gave his condolences again, and went back to the car before silently making his way back to the base.

He had planned to go back to HQ the next day but he knew there was no way he could sleep and he didn’t feel like just laying there so he got back on his ship and went back home. It was 4am when he got back and he made his way to his office. He turned on his computer and checked to see if Tony’s autopsy report had been filed yet. It had. 

Tony had officially died from acute blood loss. His tongue had been cut out and he had been disemboweled while he was alive. Things Gabriel already knew, but it was different having an official stamp put to it. 

The atmosphere around Overwatch over the next several days was somber. A lot of people knew Tony and a lot of people were mourning his loss. Tony’s body was sent back to Texas and his funeral there was coming up, but to give people at Overwatch an outlet for their grief, an evening lantern ceremony was organized and held in his memory. Everyone met up at a local river and lit lanterns and cast them off into the water. The ceremony proved to be cathartic for many and the mood around Overwatch lightened some.

Gabriel had yet to express any emotion one way or the other toward the situation. He went about his days as usual planning missions, overseeing operations of Blackwatch, going to meetings. But you could tell he was different, like a part of him had just shut down, you figured that’s the part where he stuffed all his feelings and locked them away so he could get through the days. 

He was quiet at home and when you were together he just clung to you. Every opportunity he got to wrap his arms around you and hold you, he did, whether it was a convenient time for you or not. He’d come in the kitchen and hold onto you while you tried to cook dinner, which slowed things down significantly and sometimes things burned because you couldn't get to them fast enough. He’d be sitting on the couch and if you happened to walk past, he’d grab your wrist and pull you into his lap. He’d cling to you when you went to bed and if you separated during the night he’d eventually wake and pull you back into his arms again, waking you up as well. He never talked when he held you, he just kept you in his arms. Sometimes he was affectionate with you, kissing and caressing you. A few times he had tried to initiate sex with you, but you both soon realized he just couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm for it, his emotional state rendering him impotent.

You didn’t say anything and you didn’t push him away, regardless of how inconvenient or disruptive his clinging was. Whatever he needed to get through this you would give it to him. 

The funeral was held in Texas. You, Gabriel, Jessica, Jesse, and Genji all made the flight out there and were eventually joined by Jack. Tony's homegoing service was held at the church his family had gone to for generations and it was packed with family and friends all mourning his loss. Gabriel held you around your shoulders as you sat through the service, crying at different intervals, as music was played and loved ones spoke about their memories of him. Jessica, Jesse, and Genji were emotional as well and sometimes Genji would reach for your hand and hold it or Jesse would put his arm around Jessica comforting her while she sobbed. Gabriel still showed no emotion.

You all went with the family to the cemetery. On behalf of Tony’s parents, Gabriel made the necessary arrangements for Tony to receive full funeral honors complete with the playing of Taps by horn, a rifle detail, and a fly over. You stood there with Gabriel as he held your hand tight watching Tony's casket being lowered into the ground 

The repast was held at Tony’s parents ranch and you found comfort in making yourself useful, helping to serve guests, bringing out more food when it was needed, and cleaning up empty plates and cups. 

At some point Gabriel took his glass of whiskey and made his way outside. He walked to a barn in the far distance and sat on a bail of hay, just needing to get away for a moment. He sat alone for a while then Jessica made her way inside. She mulled around closeby to where Gabriel was sitting, twirling a piece of hay in her fingers but staying silent. Eventually Jesse and Genji made their way inside and they all just silently stood or sat around.

“It’s not right...Tony not being here,” said Genji, breaking the silence. Everyone nodded.

“He was a good kid,” said Gabriel.

“I’m gonna miss him,” said Jessica. “Mainly his impressions of people.” Everyone smiled and chuckled a bit.

“He had you dead on Jefe. Funniest thing I ever seen in my life was durin’ trainin’. You had turned around to do somethin’ or other and Tony dismissed everyone in your voice. The look on your face when you turned back around to see everyone walkin’ away. I’ll never forget it,” laughed Jesse. Everyone else laughed too. 

“I had him running laps all afternoon for that one,” smiled Gabriel.

Everyone went silent with fond looks on their faces. 

Jessica’s face then turned angry.

“I’ll never forgive the bastard who did this for as long as I live,” she said, clenching her fist tight. 

“I want him to pay,” they all said in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

Gabriel sighed and held up his glass.

“To Tony,” he said.

“To Tony,” they all repeated as Gabriel poured some of his whiskey out on the ground.

“Lets head back,” he said, standing up.

He left the barn and what was left of his team followed behind him.

That night you all returned to the Houston base and settled into your rooms. You and Gabriel shared a room and when you got inside he went to sit down on the bed, pulling you to him. 

You grabbed his cheeks, pressing kisses to his mouth as he wrapped his arms around you. He leaned up capturing your mouth in a heated kiss that you returned, caressing the back of his head with both hands. He pulled back, breaking the kiss.

“I want to try something.”

“Like what?” you said.

“Suck me.” You looked at him surprised. 

“Gabe, I don’t thin-”

“Just try it for me. Maybe I can get it up this time.” 

You looked at him and sighed, thinking to yourself for a moment. Then you lowered yourself to your knees in front of him placing your hands on his thighs. You ran them up and began to undo his pants removing his length which was semi-hard at this point. 

You grabbed it and licked at the tip making him shudder, before you took the whole thing into your mouth and began to suck slowly, bobbing your head up and down, laving your tongue over each vein as your mouth created the perfect amount of suction up and down his shaft. Gabriel leaned back some, eyes slitted, as he took a deep breath, putting his hand on the back of your head closing and opening it in your hair.

He was slowly getting harder as you worked him, his breaths starting to come out in pants as you caressed his thighs. 

“Baby that feels so good,” he breathed

You kept sucking and slurping at him, licking at him, his length growing harder, but suddenly it started to soften, you took your mouth off him and started to pump with your hand, looking at him, disappointment starting to pant his features. Soon he was softer than when you had started and you stopped and got up, hiking up your dress, straddling his lap. You grabbed his face and pecked his mouth.

“It’s ok. Just give it more time,“ you said low.

He nodded then wrapped his arms around you, taking you with him as he laid back on the bed. You laid your head on his chest and he stroked your back. Eventually, you both got up and got dressed for bed, where he went back to silently clinging to you as you both fell asleep. 

The next morning you all made the flight back to HQ. It was late afternoon when you and Gabriel got home. Gabriel sat on the bed while you went to the closet to unpack. When you were done he was still sitting there and you looked at him for a second, noticing the far off look in his eyes. You thought about saying something to snap him out of it, but you decided to leave him be. 

You started to think about dinner and went to the kitchen to see what leftovers were available, you really didn’t feel like cooking. You opened the refrigerator and contemplated ordering out instead. You closed the fridge and went back to the bedroom to get your phone, but when you came in, Gabriel was sitting on the floor head in his hands, crying. 

You took a deep breath and went to him kneeling next to him on the floor. You slowly moved to wrap your arms around him and when he felt your touch he grabbed you pulling you into his lap as he held you and silently sobbed against your shoulder. You held him tight stroking his back and his hair, crying with him. 

He had gotten Tony back to his family so they could bury him with the dignity that wasn't afforded him in his death. He had stood strong long enough to see the members of Blackwatch through their grief. He had ensured Tony was properly honored for his service and sacrifice and now that it was all done, he had finally given himself permission to break. Eventually he spoke, still holding on to you laying on your shoulder. 

“It’s my fault. It was my job to vet the fucking CI. I got Tony killed. It’s all my fault Y/N.”

“Shhh don’t say that,” you said stroking his back.

“They’re all just kids Y/N. You don’t know how many kids I’ve sent off to they’re deaths. You don’t know how much innocent blood is on my hands. I’ll never get clean Y/N, I'll never get clean." His back shook as his silent sobs renewed. Eventually he calmed enough to speak again. “They all think I don’t care….I cry for every one of them….How could I stand there in front of his family? I’m the reason why their son is in the ground.”

You sat there for a long time with him, letting him vent, letting him cry, letting him feel every emotion he had stuffed down and locked away until he couldn’t hold it in anymore, until what he had felt was his obligation to Tony and Tony's family was complete. 

He usually did this part alone and he had had every intention to shut you out and hold up somewhere quiet, where he could be with his tears and his thoughts and his self-loathing, but opening up to you lately, even the little bit that he had, made him think differently about it. It was strange having you there to hold him and show him tenderness and caring he didn't feel like he deserved, but he found you made him feel a little better. You told him it would be ok and he believed it would. You told him he wasn't the monster he felt like he was and as long as you kept holding him in your arms he thought it must be true. You soothed his hurt, and you let him pour out his pain and guilt to you without judgment or repulsion and he poured and poured until he was drained. 

When he finally let you go he wiped his face and looked at you, then wiped yours. 

"I'm exhausted. Lay down with me," he said. You nodded and you both got up and laid down in the bed together eventually falling asleep. 

Gabriel was in an outdoor seating area of a cafe sitting at a table, skimming a newspaper, when suddenly you came to the table and sat down in a huff, putting shopping bags under the table. 

“You’re getting faster Y/N,” said Gabriel as he lowered the paper. You rolled your eyes at him, irritated, beginning to remove sunglasses and a scarf from your head. “But it’s still taking you too long to realize you have a tail. You should have spotted him before you went into the first store.”

“Well forgive me for wanting to focus on the shopping I had planned to do today. I didn’t realize I was going to be subjected to one of your little tests.”

“That's how it works in the real world. No ones gonna announce they’re following you. You need to be more vigilant than that. I need you to master this Y/N.”

“What for?” you said exasperated.

“Y/N if you had known how to do this, Able wouldn’t have been able to follow you around for so long. Lucky for you, you have an expert to teach you.”

“More like a pain in the ass.”

Suddenly a man with a red hat came to the table and sat down, taking off his hat. It was Tony.

“Hi Tony. Sorry you have to spend your Saturday morning like this,” you said.

“No worries. I get to learn how to be a tail while you learn how to spot and evade one, it's a win/win in my book.

“See? Why can’t all the recruits be like you? Obedient, eager to learn-” said Gabriel. You cut him off.

“Eager to let you lead them to their graves,” he looked at you, confused.

“What?”

Suddenly you laughed hysterically and looked at Tony, he looked back at you and started laughing too. You turned back to Gabriel, a jovial smile on your face, a thick trail of blood snaking down your chin from the corner of your mouth. Your gaze became fixed on him, growing in intensity as your mouth began to slowly open. Tony started to laugh louder as blood began to gurgle up and gush from your mouth down your chin. Then something flesh-like came out and fell on the table with a thud sliding across and coming to a stop. Your tongue...

Gabriel jumped as his eyes quickly shot open, he looked around the bedroom, panting. As he did, he instantly felt the last feeling he had been holding back this whole time take hold, rage. 

He also felt pain in his groin and when he looked down he realized his dick was rock hard, so much so it hurt. 

He looked to you, asleep on your back, and reached for your chest groping your breast roughly over your shirt, waking you up. He rolled on top of you and came up on his knees straddling you, and your eyes immediately landed on the tent in his pants. You looked up at his face, his eyes dark and cold as he looked back at you panting. 

"Gabe?" 

He reached down and undid your pants yanking them and your panties down. Then he grabbed your waist and flipped you onto your stomach. 

"Gabriel," you said, trying to turn around but he put his hand on your head and pushed it down, holding it to the pillow as he undid his own pants and released his length. He let your head go, taking himself in hand as he lowered himself on top of you and shoved into you hard, ripping a scream from your throat. He wrapped his arms around your front, one hand holding you in place against him by your forehead, his other arm wrapped around your chest as he pulled his hips back and began to rapidly and brutally impale you. His hips lifting up and dropping back down over and over again, bouncing on top of you as he grunted and growled in your ear while you screamed moans at the top of your lungs. 

He had only ever been this rough with you once before. Only once had he lost himself, and mindlessly fucked you with all his power and might and speed and it hurt now as much as it did then, his rod pounding into your cervix as you laid under him, unable to move, his arms and body holding you in place so all you could do was feel. 

"Gabriel," you gasped as he continued his unrelenting pace, the headboard tapping his rhythm into the wall. Your mouth hung open as drool dripped from your lips and you closed your eyes, hoping it would be over soon despite the intense pleasure you felt building up in your core. 

Suddenly Gabriel started chanting "Fuck, fuck, fuck…." over and over again in your ear and it got louder and louder until he was slamming into you a final time shouting it at the top of his lungs as he found release, groaning as he reached under you grabbing your breast so hard you thought it might pop. You could feel cum dripping from where you and Gabriel remained connected, creating a growing wet spot on the bed underneath you. 

He let go of your breast and reached under you further, past your stomach to your clit, fingers teasing at you at first, circling slow, then soon rubbing rapidly trying to bring you to release. 

"Cum Y/N….cum," he snarled, before biting down on your shoulder hard, but not enough to break the skin. 

Within several seconds you were moaning your orgasm, Gabriel still holding your head in place as you trembled against him. As you came down from your high he released your head and you collapsed against the pillows breathing deeply. 

Gabriel quickly got off you and made his way into the bathroom and closed the door. He looked in the mirror breathing hard as he placed his hands on the sink and leaned forward, looking in his own startled eyes. 

_What the fuck was that?_ he thought.

He turned on the cold water and put his hands under it, leaning down to splash water on his face.

Something was off. Anger was a natural part of his grieving process, but this didn’t feel the same. It was way more intense and demanded action. He had felt enraged before, but something about what he had just felt made him want to act out violently and he had given into it. All he could think was “take her, fuck her, destroy her,” and the thoughts didn’t go away until he climaxed. He needed to be alone, needed to think. He sighed and cleaned himself up a bit then zipped up and left the bathroom. 

You were sitting up in the bed, knees pulled to your chest as you leaned against the headboard.

“Gabe.”

He went to pick up his shoes and put them on, barely acknowledging that you said anything.

“Gabe....we need to talk about what just happened.” 

He noticed how shaken you sounded, but he kept his focus on putting on his shoes, then he stood up right.

"Don't wait up for me,” he said, not looking in your direction. 

“Where are you going?” 

He left the bedroom.

“Gabriel!" 

Then left the condo.


	6. A Plan For Revenge

One evening a week after returning from Tony’s funeral, Gabriel had Jessica, Genji and Jesse meet him in a conference room. They had gotten there before he did and sat at the table waiting. When he came in, a minute or two after them, he tossed a file folder as thick as a book onto the table making everyone jump as they looked at it.

“This is all the intel we have on Vincenzo Bacchelli. Information collected from before, plus some things I’ve added in the last couple days. I want you all to use the next two days to go through it and bring me ideas the next time we meet,” he said.

“Ideas? Ideas on what?” asked Jessica, looking at him with confusion on her face.

“Ideas on how to take out Vincenzo Bacchelli.”

The three looked at him, surprise on their faces.

“Now, when you say “take him out”, you mean….?” said Jesse.

“I mean put him down, for good.” said Gabriel. They looked at him, wide eyed. “Why are you all looking at me like that? At Tony’s funeral all of you said you wanted him to pay.”

They all looked at each other.

“I...I know we all said that but...I don’t think any of us actually meant-” said Jessica

“I did,” said Genji, cutting her off, reaching for the folder and sliding it to himself, flipping through it. 

Jesse sighed, "I guess I meant it too."

"Wait, so are we really discussing killing Vincenzo Bacchelli?" asked Jessica. 

"What part of put him down for good wasn't clear?" said Gabriel. 

"It was loud and clear, believe me, just….Don't get me wrong I can be pretty vindictive when I want to be, but when did Blackwatch get in the revenge business?"

"When that piece of shit killed one of our own," answered Gabriel. 

"But he didn't know Tony was Blackwatch, he had no idea he was one of ours. He doesn't even know who we are."

"He still deserves to die. These are the rules people like Vincenzo play by. An eye for an eye. He took one of ours, the debt must be repaid in kind," said Genji. 

Everyone looked at him. Genji always came across as soft-spoken and mild mannered and sometimes they forgot that he was raised in a family much like the Bacchelli Crime Family. That he understood more about how they operated than most. They also forgot that he was the reason the Shimada Clan was no longer in existence and sometimes he'd say or do things to remind them, things that thoroughly chilled them, like right now. 

"Um…” Jessica blinked as she looked from Genji to Gabriel, “So we're just going to become straight up murderers then? I mean, what about the main purpose of the initial mission, shutting down his trafficking ring, what about that?" asked Jessica

"Killing Vincenzo puts an end to the ring," said Jesse. 

"But it wasn't just about Vincenzo. The point of going to the auction was to get as many people involved in this thing as possible. Get 'em all in one fell swoop, that's what you said Commander."

"Things have changed Jessica. I can live with just Vincenzo going down. Look, if you're not up to this you can sit it out, all I ask is that you keep your mouth shut and stay out of our way."

She sat silent for a minute or two, thinking, then sighed. 

"No, I'm in. If it was me, I'd want you all to avenge me. I can do the same for Tony."

"Good. So ideas..." said Gabriel. 

"Aren't you s'posed to be the man with the plan Jefe?" asked Jesse. 

"Usually, yes, but I can't think too hard on this like I normally would. When I do, I get angry. More than angry…..I’m afraid of what I might do.”

They all looked at him slightly stunned by his admission.

******************************

The night after returning from Texas, Gabriel had been in his office, going through intel on Vincenzo, beginning to plot his revenge. He took a break for a second, leaning back in his chair closing his eyes. He started thinking to himself, about the mission, about Daniel. 

How had he dropped the ball so thoroughly? He had always been able to read people, use subtle clues they gave off to pick up on their motivations and possible intentions. How had Daniel’s betrayal not even registered on his radar? Was Daniel just that good? Or had he just been over-confident in his own abilities? So sure of himself that he let everything slip through the cracks. Surely his judgement couldn’t be that off? But here they all were. Tony was dead and Vincenzo was still out there free to kill again.

It felt like Vincenzo was mocking him, throwing his abject failure as a leader and an agent in his face. He may damn well be incompentent and a failure, but he wouldn’t stop until everyone responsible for Tony’s death paid, including himself. Karma would come for him eventually and Daniel was locked up. The only loose end was Vincenzo. As long as he breathed he stood as living proof of Gabriel’s own ineptitude and that was just something he couldn’t abide.

He left his office and drove home, wheels in his head still spinning, about how he had failed Tony, about how he was incapable of protecting anyone and he felt himself getting angrier and angrier.

He came in the condo, rage now coursing through him, much like it had the day you got home from Tony’s funeral. He saw you laying in bed and felt a strong, almost insatiable urge to get on top of you, dominate you, hold you down and fuck his rage into you until he felt calm again, like he had done before. You turned on your side mumbling his name in your sleep and something about that snapped him out of it long enough to think clearly. 

He recalled witnessing the consequences of his actions. The way you gingerly moved around, your neck, shoulders, and back sore, from how he had grabbed you and held you tightly in place. The way you walked, your steps hampered by pain in places it shouldn’t be. You never admonished him for it, but he knew he had crossed a line, had been too rough and hard with you, had held you down in a way where you couldn’t refuse with your body and he wasn’t all together sure he would have listened to your refusal with your voice. 

He knew he was only thinking these things because you were there. It really didn’t matter who it was. Something in him was itching to hurt someone, anyone and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to stop himself from giving in. 

He backed away from the bed and left the bedroom. He closed the door behind himself and left the condo, getting back into his car. 

Gabriel ended up downtown, where bars and clubs were still open, patrons spilling out onto the sidewalks and into the streets, slowing traffic down. He could feel his agitation growing as he sat in the stop and go traffic. 

When he was able to, he made a right onto a sidestreet, which happened to be clear. As he drove he saw a man and woman in the distance. The man had the women pushed against the wall of a building and it looked like she was struggling to get away from him. 

_Him_ Gabriel thought.

He pulled over and got out of his car, he walked swiftly over to the man and yanked him back by his shoulder, turning him around, punching him, knocking him to the ground. The man started to get up and Gabriel hit him again. The next thing he knew he was on top of him pummeling the man with his fists. Suddenly he registered that someone was screaming.

“GET OFF HIM! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!” 

It was the woman, she was tugging on Gabriel trying to pull him off the man. Why was she trying to save him? Wasn’t he just assaulting her? 

Gabriel stopped hitting the man and stood. The women went rushing to the man on the ground who was now barely conscious, his face covered in blood.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” She screamed and cried as she cradled the man in her arms.

“He was hurting you,” said Gabriel.

“NO HE WASN'T!! WE WERE JUST KISSING YOU PSYCHO!”

Gabriel stood there, his mind racing. He was so sure that he had seen the man hurting her, that she was struggling to get him off her. He was sure. 

“GET AWAY FROM US!” the woman screamed.

Gabriel started to back away then turned and went back to his car, peeling off. Speeding down the road. 

What the fuck had he done? What the fuck was he doing? Fucking up with Daniel had shaken his faith in his discernment abilities but now he had just confirmed that his judgement was all the way off. It confirmed what he believed deep down, he was incompetent and out of control and that made him a danger to everyone. 

He’d already gotten Tony killed, he just beat the shit out of some random man, who knew what else he was capable of doing. He could hurt you, worse than he already had. Maybe it was too late to keep Tony safe but if he could stop himself from hurting you he would. He figured he had to stay away from you as much as he could. 

He went to Overwatch and spent the rest of the night in his room. He hadn’t been back to the condo since.

******************************

"Anyways, I figure we're all in this together. We should formulate a plan we can all live with, take some of the heavy lifting off me,” said Gabriel.

_And the responsibility if someone else dies….I’m a fucking coward._ He thought.

"So is Morrison giving his blessing to this?" asked Jessica. 

"No, he won't know anything about this." They all looked at him, "I'll take the heat if things go sideways, but if we do this right, it'll look like one of Vincenzo's many enemies got to him. We'll be in the clear."

The three looked at each other. Gabriel sighed. 

"Look, I know I dropped the ball with Daniel. If I hadn't, Tony would still be here. I get doing this with me may give you pause-"

"What..," said Jessica, cutting him off, "...are you talking about? Daniel played us all, that's not your fault."

"We don't blame you Commander Reyes," said Genji. 

"Yeah Reyes, lighten up," said Jesse. 

Gabriel looked at all of them slightly stunned, then gave a small smile. 

"We'll reconvene here in two days, same time. You all are dismissed."

Gabriel walked through the halls, making his way to the exit to go to his room when he passed Jack. They both kept walking, but Jack suddenly stopped and turned around calling out to him.

“Hey,” Gabriel stopped and turned.

“Yeah.” Jack walked up to him, closing the distance.

"How you holding up? I've been busy, haven't had a chance to check in." Gabriel sighed.

"I'm ok I guess. You know how this shit goes with me."

"I do, which is why I'm surprised you haven't run off to Watchpoint Gibraltar or some other place to be alone like you usually do."

Gabriel shrugged. 

"I can't do that to Y/N, shut her out."

“Staying here isn’t shutting her out?” 

Gabriel looked at Jack, realization coming to him. He hadn’t thought of it like that. He thought he was keeping you safe by staying away but, maybe, in a way, he was shutting you out. Even though he had been opening up to you more, sharing his grief and brokenness with you was almost too open and he found in the days after that he regretted it. He sighed.

"I'm just really pissed off and I’m not sure what to do with all of it. If it was up to me, Vincenzo's head would be on a platter right now."

"Kicking off all manner of chaos in the process. Good thing it's not up to you,” said Jack.

"Hmm." 

They both went silent for a minute. Jack sighed.

“She misses you. You should come home once in a while, even if it's just for dinner.”

Gabriel nodded.

“Hang in there,” said Jack putting his hand on his shoulder and squeezing, before he let go.

“Thanks.”

Both men turned and continued on in the directions they had been going.

Two days later, Gabriel, Jessica, Jesse and Genji all reconvened in the conference room, spitballing ideas and what Genji and Jesse had come up with was either too risky or too complicated. Gabriel was pacing the front of the room and he stopped to look at Jessica. 

"Jessica, you haven't said anything. This is supposed to be a team effort."

She smiled.

"I was just waiting for Genji and Jesse to get all their shit ideas out of the way so I can speak without interruption."

Both men looked at her, offended. She reached down into her bag and pulled out a folder. 

"Should I stand?" she asked. 

"Just spit it out Jessica, stop being so dramatic," said Gabriel. She laughed a little.

"If that's what you want." She stretched her arms up then opened her folder. “So, according to our intel, Vincenzo has a nightclub. I have a friend visiting Italy so I asked her to go and act like an obnoxious American tourist, taking pictures, chatting up the staff and his entourage, trying to get in all areas of the club without a pass, and she came through and sent me all these photos of the inside and the people with Vincenzo."

She took a stack of pictures out and spread them out on the table and everyone came in close to look at them. 

"You have a friend who's just as annoyin’ as you are? Why am I not surprised?," said Jesse. 

Jessica rolled her eyes at him. 

"Anyways, she went there a couple times and from what she told me and what you can tell from the pictures, security is a lot more lax around Vincenzo at the club and he leaves his entourage at home, with the exception of Enzio, his right hand."

"I've heard of Enzio, he's pretty dangerous in his own right," said Gabriel. 

"Well my friend said she was told sometimes he's there and sometimes he's not, depending on Vincenzo's mood. He likes to go there to relax."

Gabriel nodded. He gathered up the photos and started to pace the front of the room, shuffling through them, looking at them as he thought to himself. He stopped and set them down then continued pacing. 

“So we take him out at the club, we just need a way to get in there…..We need one of our own embedded in who can get the rest of us in. Who can we get to? Who can we replace?” He asked.

"Apparently, Vincenzo likes to bring in live entertainment for his VIP section. This is a copy of the schedule for the month. I was thinking we could probably get to one of the entertainers easily," said Jessica as she pulled schedules out from the folder. 

She passed one to everyone and they looked it over. 

"A lion tamer?" Jesse scoffed, "Who is this guy?"

Everyone went silent again. 

“What about the samba dancer?” asked Genji.

Gabriel kept pacing his hand on his chin, stroking his facial hair with his thumb as he looked at the schedule, “That won’t work. I’m sure Vincenzo will be expecting whoever he hires to dance for him. I can’t samba and you three can barely walk in a straight line let alone dance.” 

Jesse, Genji, and Jessica all looked at each other as Gabriel paced. Jessica kept making facial expressions urging one of them to speak up but neither man would, shaking their head at her.

“Oh my God, I guess I’ll say it then. What about Y/N?” said Jessica.

Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her for a minute.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“Why not?! She can dance can’t she?”

“Hell no! She’s not an agent Jessica, she’s not trained.” he said.

“All she’s gonna be doing is dancing and letting us in the back door. Plus, she can handle a gun and after that whole Charity Greyson situation, I know for a fact that chick has nerves of steel. How much more training does she need?”

Jesse sighed. 

“Can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I agree with Jessica. Y/N’s our best bet.” said Jesse, Gabriel looked at him with a betrayed expression, “We’re s’posed to be doin all this under Morrison’s nose. Anyone else, we'd have to worry about them keepin' things hush hush, but Y/N is loyal, we ain't’ gotta worry about her blabbin’ to him.”

“No,” said Gabriel.

“Why? Because she’s your girlfriend? We’re supposed to be doing this for Tony, that means all hands on deck, nothing’s off limits, anything goes. Stop being so selfish,” said Jessica. “Y/N cared about Tony too, I’m sure she’d be willing to do this for him.”

“I’m not being selfish. Y/N is a civilian. We don’t have the right to involve her in this shit. She didn’t sign up for this, we-”

“But she’ll probably help us regardless,” said Genji.

“You should at least ask her,” said Jessica. 

Gabriel looked at all three of them, eyes moving from one face to another. 

“I can’t believe you three are all in agreement about this. We can’t ask this of her. As I was trying to say before, we signed up to put our lives on the line. She didn’t, and we don’t have the right to ask her to."

"Well then you come up with a better idea, because outside of that, we got nada," said Jessica. She pushed her chair away from the table and stood grabbing her bag. 

"Where are you going? I haven't dismissed anyone yet," said Gabriel. 

"You want us to sit around while you convince yourself to do the right thing? Sorry, I've got better ways to spend my time," she turned to leave. 

"SIT DOWN JESSICA!" 

She stopped, turned back, and sat down. Regardless of how informal all of this was, he was still her commander. Gabriel sighed, thinking to himself as he went back to pacing. 

He really didn't want to involve you in any of this. He'd be deliberately putting you in harm's way, which was the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be doing as far as you were concerned. There were a million ways this whole thing could go sideways and if anything happened to you he'd never ever forgive himself. 

What bothered him most though was the whole purpose of this mission. It was an unsanctioned revenge mission, to put it frankly. His intent was to kill Vincenzo. He didn't want you there to witness him spilling someone else's blood. What would you think of him then? Would you be afraid of him? See him as a monster? You didn't mind him hitting a guy when it was called for but watching him take a man's life was something completely different. He didn't want it to change you or your opinion of him. 

In his mind you were innocent. You'd never killed anyone or witnessed any form of killing and he didn't want to drag you into the shit he'd been wading in for decades. He signed up for this, signed up to do all manner of questionable things that blackened his soul and chipped away at it. He had killed people, broken and mangled them and left them for dead, committed acts of savagery and for reasons that may or may not have always been noble or right. He didn't want the stain of blood on his hands to be on yours too. 

You were pure, your spirit bright, your heart big and open. He wanted to do everything in his power to preserve that. He didn't want you to have to close yourself off the way he had had to just to cope with the things he had seen and done.

And yet, he was going to have to. He wanted Vincenzo’s head desperately enough that the ruthless side of him, the side that was unemotional and calculating, the side that would do whatever it took to reach a goal regardless of who he had to hurt or step on or over, the side that always won out in times like these, was willing to sacrifice your innocence to get it. Part of him hated himself for that fact and probably always would. 

"I'll ask her," he said. 

Everyone looked at him in shock. 

"That's big of you," said Jesse "I don't want Y/N involved anymore than you do, but we ain't got no other options."

"Well we’re gonna have to find some. This thing with Y/N is strictly a plan B, a last resort. When we meet again, you all better show up with some other ideas.”

Everyone at the table nodded. Gabriel sighed again running a hand over his beanie covered head. 

"You all are dismissed."


	7. The Ask

Almost two weeks had passed since Gabriel had stopped coming home and you barely saw each other around Overwatch. Some nights, part of you thought about going to his room to see him, but you figured he wanted to be alone for a reason so you gave him his space, which is why it surprised you when he came into the studio that afternoon between your classes. You were putting foam rollers away as he walked in.

“Hey,” he said. You turned around to look at him.

“Hey stranger”, you replied, turning back to the rack to finish what you were doing.

He walked toward you, picking up the last of the rollers on the floor, bringing them to you. 

“Thanks,” you said, taking them from him to put them up.

You turned to look at him and you both just stood there awkwardly staring at each other for a minute.

“You want to talk about it?” you asked. 

"Actually that’s why I’m here. Are you busy tonight?” 

“Not really.”

“Want to catch up over dinner?”

“I guess I can make time for dinner.” You gave a slight smile. He smiled back, reaching up to grab your chin and stroke it with his thumb.

“Pick you up at 8?” You nodded. “Wear those jeans I like.” 

"Excuse me? You've been out of the picture for weeks with no word and now I have to dress up for you to talk to you about it? You should dress up for me. Wear the jeans that I like." He chuckled. 

"Touche Y/N. I'll dress up for you."

“Thank you.”

When Gabriel came to pick you up he was, in fact, dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans you always said made his butt look good and a button-down shirt you had bought him and he stood on the passengers side waiting for you to come out of the condo in jeans of your own and a yellow lace, sleeveless, peplum top. He smiled when he saw you, putting his hand on your cheek to kiss you before opening your door for you to get in. He got in on his side and began to drive off. As he drove, he took your hand into his, intertwining your fingers, kissing the back of it.

“You look pretty tonight Y/N,” you smiled. 

“Thank you. So do you," he smiled, "Where are we going?” 

“Somewhere quiet, I want you all to myself tonight.”

He drove to one of your favorite restaurants and parked. You took off your seatbelt to get out but he put his hand on your thigh to still you.

“Wait here.” You looked at him confused.

“Wait here?”

“I’ll be back.” 

He got out of the car and went into the restaurant then came back with to-go bags. You looked at him quizzically.

“We’re not eating in there?” 

“Nope, got somewhere better for us to eat.”

He drove a short distance and turned off the main road driving a little bit more before he parked, turning off the car. It was dark outside now and all you saw out the windows was pitch black. 

“You grab the food. I got stuff to get out the back.”

“Uh...Gabe, where are we?” He smiled.

“Somewhere nice, I promise.”

Gabriel got out and went to the trunk while you grabbed the food and made your exit from the car. He came around to you, carrying a long duffle bag and grabbed your hand, leading you forward through what you realized was grass. 

You walked a ways until he stopped, dropping the duffle next to a large tree. You stood there as you watched him open the bag and pull out four torches and stake them at four points in the ground. As he did this you looked around realizing you were in some sort of meadow under a clear sky full of stars. The spot you were in overlooked a calm lake and the moon reflected from the water like a mirror.

He pulled out a blanket and spread it out between the torches, then took out a lighter and lit each one, gesturing for you to sit down when the last one was lit. You did, and started to spread out the food. He took out a bottle of chilled wine, which you found odd for some reason, a bottle opener, and cups to drink out of then took his seat on the blanket in front of you. 

Outside of Gabriel’s moving around, it was silent. When he said he wanted to take you somewhere quiet this is not what you had in mind, but it was beautiful and the torches provided just enough light to see your meals and each other while also taking in the night scenery around you. You loved when he did things like this, surprised you with something that was seemingly simple but felt extravagant. You looked at him fondly as he pulled the cork out of the wine and poured it into cups, handing you one. He caught your expression and smirked leaning in to kiss your mouth. 

“This is beautiful, Gabriel. Thank you.” 

“I know I’ve been MIA lately. I just wanted to spend some time with you.”

You went silent for a second, contemplating if you should push for information now.

“Can you tell me why you haven’t come home? Are you having a difficult time because of Tony?”

He sighed picking up his container of food and a fork taking the lid off.

“Something like that Y/N….The way I feel sometimes...I don’t want to take that out on you, so I stay away.”

You nodded, looking down in your cup of wine. "How do you feel?"

“Angry, really angry.” You looked at him.

“Is there anything I can do to help you? You know you can talk to me, right? I just want to support you.”

“You being here right now, is plenty helpful.” 

You forced a small smile, looking down again. What kind of cheap answer was that? He said you were going to talk and you thought you really would talk about what was going on with him, but so far he hadn’t said anything substantive and you were pretty sure if you pushed for more that that was all you were going to get. You couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated.

“Eat your food Y/N, I got your favorite. It's gonna get cold.” 

You looked up and grabbed your container and a fork and started to eat. 

When your food was finished and the trash was put back in the bag the food came in, Gabriel laid back on the blanket and you laid back with him on his chest, his arms around you stroking your skin as he looked up at the stars. You were both silent for a long time before Gabriel took a deep breath.

“I have another reason for bringing you out here.” he said. 

“Hmm?”

“I need to ask you something. Just...let me get it out first, then you can think about it and give me your answer.”

“Ok?” you said, feeling apprehensive about where this conversation was about to go.

“We’re planning a mission. A mission to take down the man who killed Tony and we need someone from our side to get into his club posing as a samba dancer. I’d never ever involve you in something like this, but you're the only dancer we have at Overwatch and the only one we can trust.” He paused for a second taking another deep breath, “What I’m asking you to do is dangerous, there’s a lot of variables out of our control. If you don’t feel up to it, tell me ‘no’ now and we’ll never talk about this again….but if you do, I promise to do everything I can to keep you out of harm's way.”

Suddenly, you sat up looking at him, hand on his chest as you leaned on him, thinking to yourself a bit before you spoke.

“When you say "take down" Tony’s killer, what do you mean? Lock him up?” He sighed and shook his head.

“We’re gonna kill him.” 

You took a sharp inhale and looked away from him going silent again for a while, thinking. You looked at him again,

“What exactly would you need me to do?” 

“Dance and let us into the VIP area, that's it.” You nodded contemplatively.

“Would this make me a member of Blackwatch?” he smiled, chuckling a bit as he reached up and held your cheek stroking it.

“An honorary member, in name only.” You smiled a bit as you looked at him.

“I’ll do it...for Tony….for you.”

He looked at you searching your eyes for uncertainty. Finding none, he exhaled, pulling you down onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around you, kissing the top of your head.

“Why are you like this Y/N? Always willing to run headfirst into trouble.”

“I don’t know,” you said. 

“We have a few weeks to prepare, you can back out at any time, no hard feelings Y/N, I swear. Don’t feel like you have to do this to prove something to me, if you have second thoughts at any time, tell me and we’ll end this, understand?”

You nodded. He held you tighter

“You silly girl, you never do what’s good for you.” 

“Not true, being with you is good for me, and I’m right here.”

“Babygirl, being with me is gonna get you killed.”

“Then I’ll die with a smile on my face.”

“Don’t say things like that, Y/N. I know you're trying to make light of it, but don’t joke about that.” he pulled you close kissing your forehead. “You're gonna die an old lady, peaceful and warm in your bed having lived a long and fulfilling life and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make that so."

You both went silent, laying there together under the stars. It had been a while since Gabriel had held you or touched you for that matter and you relaxed into his embrace, rubbing his chest slowly over his shirt. 

"I miss you Gabriel."

"I miss you too."

"Come home tonight, lay with me in our bed, please."

He took a deep breath. It had been a couple days since he had last felt those feelings of rage that made him want to do violent things. He still didn't quite trust himself but he thought he was doing ok so far tonight. As long as he kept his thoughts in check, he could probably get through one night without incident. 

"Ok," he said. 

An hour or so later you both packed up and left the meadow making your way home. You were now both in bed on your sides holding each other and you placed your hand on his cheek and pressed your lips to his, kissing him slowly, his hands starting to roam your back, pressing you closer to him as the kiss started to deepen. 

Soon you were both humming as you exchanged tongues, kissing vigorously, and your hand was moving in between you to his boxers and soon it was inside them gripping and stroking his length as it got harder and harder and his hand was now under your shirt kneading and caressing your breast, pinching your nipple between his fingers, and you both continued to kiss sloppily now, humming and moaning, urgency and desperation growing as you touched each other. 

You reluctantly pulled away from him taking your hand out of his boxers and you started to turn around to your other side, pulling your panties down and kicking them off as you went. You pressed your ass into his crotch and reached behind you to grab his arm pulling it over you, placing his hand on your breast. 

"Fuck me Gabriel," you breathed. 

He moved his hand off your breast and reached down to grab your leg pulling it over his own as he shoved his other hand under you wrapping his arm around you, pulling your back against his warm chest and you pressed into it, instinctively as you hooked your foot around his leg. He placed the index and middle fingers of his other hand on your lips. 

"Suck," he commanded and you opened your mouth taking them in, sucking on his digits as he pumped them over your tongue, his other hand pulling your shirt above your chest so he could massage your breast. Suddenly he pulled them from your mouth and pressed them to your clit rubbing fast circles. 

"Oh my God baby," you moaned, reaching back to touch his cheek, then grip his hair. 

"You like that?" he whispered in your ear. 

"Yes," you breathed, arching against him as he worked you. 

Soon he was reaching past your clit replacing his fingers with his thumb as he pressed his thick digits into you making you both moan.

"Shit, your so fucking warm inside Y/N. I could cum from how good you feel on my fingers baby."

He started to press kisses to your neck as he began to slowly pump his fingers in and out of you, his thumb still rubbing at you as he did, drawing long moans and sighs from you. You started to rock your hips in tandem with his fingers pumping into you and he chuckled a bit. 

"Thats right Y/N, fuck daddy's fingers."

"Like that?" you breathed still rocking your hips. 

"Just like that sweet girl," 

Eventually he pulled his fingers out of you and brought them to his mouth to suck humming as he tasted you before removing them and pressing them into your mouth, pumping them over your tongue again. 

"You taste so good baby."

He pulled his fingers from your mouth and reached for his boxers pulling them down some, releasing his length, taking it in hand and pressing slowly into you, spreading you open as you gripped his arm around you, mouth dropping open in a low guttural moan, while Gabriel groaned behind you. 

He pushed in to the hilt then sat still, breathing deeply while you whimpered at how full of him you felt. He ran his hand up and down your stomach, then to your chest, coming to rest at your neck, his large hand engulfing it, fingertips gently pressing into the column of it. He pulled his hips back slowly then thrust back into you setting a moderate pace as he rolled his hips into yours. 

The sensation of him inside you was overwhelming after being without him for so long, like tingles and butterflies radiating from your core and out through your body and you closed your eyes and deeply inhaled then exhaled moans that almost sounded like sobs. 

"I love you…I love you….ooooh don't stop baby, please," you moaned. 

Gabriel kept rolling his hips at the same pace, savoring your moans, your pleas for him not to stop making him smile. 

Deep down he knew what you were really asking for when you asked him to come back home and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it, thought he might snap and the rage within him might take over. But your moans were so sweet and your soft skin felt so good against his and he just wanted to protect you in his arms for as long as he could and make your body feel like heaven and everything about being with you right now soothed him and relaxed him, so much that there was no room for rage and he realized how much he needed this right now, needed you. 

You needed him too. Tony’s death had hurt you as well and you had put most of your focus into comforting Gabriel, getting him through it, until he pulled away. In his absence, you realized you needed to be comforted too, needed to be held. Being with him like this right now, wrapped in his arms as he put all he had into making your body feel sheer ecstasy was so necessary right now, was what you needed to keep you going. 

He kept his moderate pace up, fucking into you deeper now with each roll of his hips and he pressed kisses to your cheek, his hand still holding your neck gently, as your moans grew in intensity. You held his arms tightly in your hands as he pumped wave after wave of pleasure into you and you let yourself drown in it until you couldn't take any more. 

You writhed against him as you trembled in his arms whining your moans loudly as you came undone. He followed shortly after you pressing his head into the back of yours, crossing his arms over your chest grabbing your shoulders holding you tight and close to him as he slammed his hips into you, keeping them pressed to you as he pumped into you slowly and deeply, spilling seed into you each time he did while he groaned in your ear. 

Soon the both of you relaxed breathing deeply laying still for several minutes, before Gabriel grabbed your cheek making you roll onto your back and turn to him so he could press his lips to yours and you held his cheek in turn, returning his kiss until you both had to come up for air. 

He laid on your chest, his arm around you while you stroked his hair, his thumb rubbing back and forth slowly over your nipple as you both drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would really love some feedback on my smut because I honestly feel like its not that good. I'm officially opening the door for all constructive criticism because I can only improve so throw it at me.


	8. Welcome to the Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be busy over the weekend so I'm blessing ya'll with ch. 7 and 8 now. I'll pick back up on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

You ran down the hall, tupperware containers in hand, tote bag on your shoulder. You were supposed to be meeting up with Gabriel, Jesse, Genji, and Jessica to start going over plans for the mission and you were running late. You got to the door and struggled a bit to turn the knob with your hands full but you managed and pushed the door open. Gabriel was standing in front of the conference table talking while everyone else sat, he cut himself off as you came in and looked at you.

“Sorry I’m late. I went back home to get this stuff ready and lost track of time,” you said coming to the table and setting your containers and the tote bag down. Jesse eyed the tupperware.

“What is all that Y/N?” he asked.

“Oh,” you took the lid off the container on the top and set it in the middle of the table. “I made sandwiches. There’s turkey, ham, roast beef, and veggie all on croissants,” you picked up the other container taking off the lid, setting it in the middle as well, “and I made cookies. Help yourselves.”

The faces at the table lit up as they stood to look into the containers and grab sandwiches and cookies. While they did that, you took napkins, plates, a big bag of chips, and small bottles of water out of your tote bag. 

"Thanks Y/N," said Genji. 

"Yeah, thanks," said Jessica. 

“Have I ever told you that I love you?” said Jesse, coming over to kiss your cheek.

“Only when I feed you.” you replied with a smile.

He went back to his seat and started eating. Everyone at the table was contentedly munching, but Gabriel was irritated.

“Y/N can I talk to you for a second?” he said.

“Yeah.”

You walked to the front of the room and he led you over to the side, turning to face you. You could tell he was annoyed.

“Are you taking this seriously?” he asked.

“Of course I am.”

“I don’t think you are. You come here late, causing this big disruption. This isn’t a game Y/N, we’re all getting ready to do something dangerous. I need everyone, that includes you, focused on the task at hand. That means you show up on time, ready to work.”

“I…I understand. I won’t be late again.” You were a little taken aback by the fact that he was giving you a dressing down like you were a recruit. 

“And no more food. These guys have a short attention span as it is and all of this…” he said, waving his hand in the direction of the table, “...is a distraction.”

“Ok, no more food,” you said as you nodded.

Gabriel looked at you, his irritation dissipating a little. He reached up to put his hand on your cheek but stopped himself, lowering it. You looked at him quizzically.

“In here, I’m not your boyfriend. I’m Commander Reyes.”

“Should I call you that too?” you asked. He smiled.

“You can call me Gabriel, just remember that I have a job to do, we all do, ok?”

You nodded. He took a deep breath, “Go have a seat.” 

You went back to the table and took a seat before you loaded up a plate for yourself. Gabriel had gone back to the front of the room and you ate while he talked. He went over the details of the plan they had hatched thus far.

You would be taking the place of a samba dancer that had been hired to provide entertainment for one night at the club. Gabriel had arranged for someone to reach out to the talent agency the club used to book their dancer, cancel the booking, and intercept any correspondence confirming that fact. As far as the club knew they still had a dancer scheduled to come in. 

You were to go to the club, get dressed, and wait for your stage time. While you waited, at a specific time, you were to go to the back entrance in the backstage area and let Gabriel, Jesse, and Jessica into the VIP section of the club. They would be replacing staff that worked there, a bus boy, and two waiters all of whom had been recently hired to work there and would be generously paid off not to show up on the date in question. These roles allowed them to move about the VIP area freely without being noticed. 

As they moved about, they were to find an opening to shoot Vincenzo. They'd try to take him out before you came on to dance in order to keep you out of harm's way altogether, but if they couldn't, they'd wait until after you danced. Gabriel didn't want bullets flying while you were on stage. 

To ensure Vincenzo died regardless of where he was hit, they'd be using special pistols with silencers and bullets dipped in a substance that got into the bloodstream and stopped the heart. This was a known tactic of the Moretti Crime Family, rivals of the Bacchelli's, and it would look like they carried out a hit on Vincenzo thus leaving Blackwatch in the clear. 

Genji would be back at the safehouse providing logistical assistance once everything popped off. He was given this job because his cybernetic body stood out too much, plus Vincenzo had a thing against the robotically enhanced so his presence in the club wouldn't go unnoticed. 

Gabriel slid a thick manila envelope down the table to you. You grabbed it and opened it. 

"This is your cover." he said 

You pulled out a passport and looked at it. Your assumed name would be Angelica Roman. You also pulled out a slightly thick packet of documents.

"All of Angelica's background information is in those documents. I need you to learn her backwards and forwards Y/N. I need you to become Angelica Roman, your safety depends on it." Gabriel said.

You nodded. 

"As of right now any pictures of you that are out there referring to you as Y/N have been scrubbed from the internet and all social media. For all intents and purposes, digitally, you _are_ Angelica Roman." You nodded again as you flipped through the documents. "It's been a while since you've done combat training so I've arranged for you to work with someone for the next few weeks on hand to hand combat as a refresher and I also want you to learn about knives."

You snapped your gaze to him. 

"Knives?" 

"I'd feel more comfortable if you were armed. The samba costume is too tight and revealing for a gun, but could easily hide a knife or two." 

"Wait, I already have a costume?" 

"It's being made as we speak." You blinked at him a few times. 

"O..kay?" You thought you would have gotten a say in what you were going to wear, but apparently Gabriel had other ideas about the matter.

"Last topic of discussion where you're concerned is the dance itself. It should be sexy but not too over the top. Grab his attention and hold it so that we can get in position and do what we need to do."

"I can do that."

"Don't we know it," said Jesse, making you blush a little. Gabriel cut his eyes at him, then continued. 

"When you're done dancing, get off the stage, change your clothes and leave the club. Do not stick around for any reason, you understand me?" 

"I understand." You thought to yourself for a second. "Can I ask something? What's Jack's thoughts on all of this?" 

Everyone at the table looked at you and you got the feeling you had said the wrong thing. 

"You didn't tell her?" asked Jessica, looking at Gabriel, annoyance on her face. 

Gabriel sighed. 

"I'm getting ready to tell her now….You know what? You three can go. We're done for today."

Jesse, Genji, and Jessica stood, Jesse grabbing more cookies, before making their way out the room. Gabriel came over to where you were sitting and pulled out a chair next to you. He sat and turned to you and you turned to him. 

"So? What didn't you tell me?" 

He sighed and held out his hands to you, palms up and you placed your hands in his. He held them, stroking the back of them with his thumbs. 

"This mission….Jack doesn't know about it. If he did he'd shut it down."

You looked at him for a minute. 

"Why?" 

"Because this mission is strictly about revenge."

You continued to stare at him. 

"For Tony?" 

He nodded. You took a deep breath and he felt compelled to explain. 

"I have to do this Y/N. Tony died because of me, I have to make that right-"

"Gabe-" 

"No Y/N. Just stop. It is my fault. As leader, it's my responsibility. He followed me to Blackwatch and I didn't do enough to protect him. I have to live with that, but that doesn't mean his killer shouldn't feel some pain too." He paused. "When I say I have to do this….I feel enraged all the time …it makes me want to hurt people and I'm afraid of what I might do.” You scrunched your face in bafflement by that, “The only thing keeping me semi-calm is this, working towards this. If I don't do this…."

He let go of one of your hands and placed it on your cheek looking in your eyes.

"I need you Y/N, like I need air. You're my soul. I can't lose you, do you understand? So I need to do this. I need to."

You looked at him, eyes filling with tears, overwhelmed by his sudden show of vulnerability.

“Ok,” you sniffed.

“Ok?” You nodded.

“Ok.” You quickly wiped at the tears that had fallen down your face. “What do we tell Jack though? You can use Blackwatch for an excuse, but he’s going to notice my absence.”

“Tell him you're going to Chicago. Tell him you're going to visit Mr. Isaiah. We’ll add your name to a fight manifest, make it look legit.”

“You can do that?”

“You’d be surprised what all I can do.”

You smiled a bit. Then took a deep breath, thinking a bit before you spoke.

“So, wanting to hurt people....does that include me? Is that why you don’t come home?” After the night you had spent together Gabriel still continued to stay away. He hadn’t been home in three days. “I...I thought I had done something,” you said, looking down.

“Baby, no,” he said, grabbing your face in both hands looking in your eyes, “It’s me. It’s all me.” He kissed both your cheeks, “I’m sorry.”

You grabbed his wrists as you looked at one another.

“Can you talk to me about it?” 

He sighed and let you go, sitting back in his chair, placing his arm on the rest, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke. 

“Just…something in me wants to lash out, at you, at whoever's around at the time. I'm not sure yet what triggers it. But I feel…out of control, like I can't help myself. It's like a compulsion. I gave into it when we got back from Texas and I regret that Y/N. I do. I'm sorry for that. But that's why I stay away. I’m afraid of doing so much worse. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself."

You looked at him. 

"Why don't you talk to me? Let me help you through whatever this is, help you figure out what's triggering all this instead of dealing with it on your own."

"I don't want to talk about it Y/N. You probably already look at me differently after the way I broke down. I don't want to add another weakness to the list you probably already have in your head. How can you count on me to keep you safe if all you see when you look at me is some weak, sniveling, baby who hates himself sometimes."

You were stunned by his characterization of the situation. 

"Is that what you think? That expressing your grief makes you look weak? Cause I don't think that? I think it takes a lot of strength to admit you're not ok and that you need support. Especially for someone like you who keeps everything bottled up. I don't see you as weak Gabriel. I just think you're struggling with all of this and I want to help you."

"I think not doing this on my own from the beginning is the problem,” he said.

You sighed, looking down, trying to hide how much that stung. 

"I'm sorry you see it that way,” you said.

He looked at you, saw the disappointment in your features and in how you held yourself, and it tugged at him. 

"Come here," he said, grabbing your hand and pulling you over to him to sit across his lap. He wrapped his arms around you as you laid against him, cradling you. 

You both sat like that for a while and you closed your eyes, savoring the feeling of being in his arms, listening to him breathe, feeling his warmth wrapped around you. 

"I know you miss me. I miss you too. But if I hurt you I'd never be able to live with myself, so for right now we need to stay apart. I'll be with you when I can and I'll make more of an effort to catch up with you during the day. But this is how it has to be for now." 

You stayed silent. He took a deep breath and let it out. He knew this wasn't what you wanted to hear and he hated to have to disappoint you more, but he felt like he had no other choice. 

"You know I love you, right Y/N?" You sighed, trying to modulate your voice before you spoke so he couldn't hear how disheartened you felt.

"I know."

"Don't ever forget."

"I won't. I love you too."


	9. Contempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for violent sex.

You spent the next two weeks busier than ever. In addition to the classes you regularly taught, you now had to take on classes of your own. Hand to hand combat and knife fighting. Gabriel had you learning maps of Milan, areas around the club and safehouse, so you could make your way around easily. At the same time you were memorizing everything you could about your cover, learning her backwards and forwards as Gabriel had put it. Lastly, you worked on choreographing your dance in the late evenings. Sometimes Gabriel would come by to watch and you'd catch up with each other when you took breaks. 

One night he came in with a black garment bag. 

"What's this?" 

"Your costume," he said, handing it to you, "Open it, take a look."

You went to an empty coat hook and hung the bag then unzipped it. Inside was a long sleeved, hot pink, dance dress with a deep plunging neckline, with skin-tone colored illusion mesh in between the plunge to hold it together. It was beautifully embellished in luminous crystals that caught the light and shimmered. The skirt of the dress was a shimmering fringe that was short on the sides over the thighs and long in the middle. The dress was beautiful. 

"You want to try it on," he asked. 

You nodded, removing it from the bag and going over to the far corner of the studio. 

"Turn around," you said. 

He smiled and did as you asked. 

You changed into the costume. You found the dress was actually a leotard dress which was good because the fringe was sparser than you thought and your crotch and ass area peeked through it as you moved. 

"You can turn around." 

Gabriel turned around as you walked toward him on your tiptoes and stopped to do a spin, the fringe spreading out around you.

"It looks good," he said with a smile. 

He came over to you, coming behind you and turning you both to one of the mirrored walls in the studio. He put his hand against your stomach, fingers splayed, holding you against him and you held his wrist as he took your other hand into his free one, looking at your reflection. 

"I had bulletproof threads woven into the fabric. There shouldn't be any shooting going on while you dance, but just in case." He took his hand from your stomach and gently ran his fingers down the plunge of the dress tickling your skin. "I asked your instructor to focus on push daggers specifically, because they're small enough and flat enough for the pockets I had sewn into the inside of the dress. He says you're doing really good, by the way." You smiled. 

"He's never said that to me." He chuckled. 

"He's not supposed to. Makes you work harder." 

You started to laugh, but you were cut off by him lifting your chin and turning you some so he could press his lips to yours in a heated kiss. You turned fully, pressing yourself into him and he wrapped his arms around you, palming your ass. You broke the kiss. 

"I love the way you do all you can to protect me," you said against his mouth before pressing your lips back to his. 

_If I had done that with Tony, he'd still be here._ He thought. 

You could feel him rise against you and you reached down to rub your hand over his bulge making him hum. 

You kept kissing as you used your other hand to reach for his belt to undo it. Then you undid his pants and reached inside his boxers rubbing your hand over his length. 

"Fuck Y/N," he breathed against your lips. His hands roaming your back and ass. 

"You like that?" you asked, against his mouth.

"You know I do." he whispered. 

"You want to fuck me?" 

"Yes." 

"Then fuck me, right here on this floor, fuck me. I'm so pent up Gabriel, I need you to make me cum. Please." He nodded. "Please."

You started to lower yourself to the floor and he followed you kneeling between your legs as you laid on your back. 

"Take this off," he breathed, running his hands up your stomach and over your breasts over the costume. 

You began to peel it off your arms and down your stomach and he pulled it over your legs and off your feet and you laid there in nothing but your panties which he quickly pulled down and off you. 

He eyed your center and lunged at it, pushing his head between your legs as he pushed his arms under them, grabbing your waist and pulling you to him as he lapped at you and you arched and moaned as you grabbed at his hair. 

He licked and slurped at you, tongue between your folds, dipping in and out of your hole, his mouth sucking on your lips and on your clit and you gripped his hair and rocked your pussy into his face as you moaned his name, your feet on his back, toes curled as he held your legs open with his hands. 

Eventually he sat up wiping his mouth and chin, reaching for his length with one hand and grabbing the back of your thigh with the other, pushing your leg into your chest as he lowered himself onto you, sinking his rod into you as he did. 

"Oh God!" you shouted, throwing your head back as he spread you open. When he was fully seated, you grabbed his face into your hands as he pulled his hips back and thrust into you. You moaned against each other's mouths in relief and kept moaning as he set a moderate but powerful pace. 

"Fuck Gabriel, yes baby," you moaned looking into his hooded, lust-filled eyes as he fucked into you.

"Too long, its been too fucking long," he breathed as he started to thrust harder, "Can't get deep enough." He started to pump faster. 

He let go of your leg and his hand was now around your neck and he squeezed. Your eyes went wide and he added the other hand. He was fucking into you wildly now, grunting with each thrust, as he squeezed your throat as hard as he could and you started to kick your legs, clawing at his hands, body now bucking, panic on your face, as you fought to breathe. His eyes were cold, nothing in them, his teeth clenched with the effort of his thrusts, not even registering your struggling. He just kept squeezing your throat and brutally fucking into you as the life started to leave your eyes and...

You were both still standing there kissing as you ran your hand over his bulge. He swiftly grabbed your hand from the front of his pants. What you had just said and you rubbing against him like that was making his mind go places he didn't want it to go. He quickly pulled back from your kiss and looked at you. He had a disconcerted expression on his face. He squeezed his eyes closed and opened them again blinking. 

"Gabriel? Are you ok?" you asked. 

What he had imagined had seemed so real. Too real. 

"I gotta go." 

He stepped around you and started walking out of the studio. 

"Gabriel!" you called after him, but he didn't turn back. 

Gabriel rushed to the men's room, breathing hard, he could feel his agitation growing as he paced in front of the stalls clenching and unclenching his hands. He was disgusted by his thoughts, but he couldn't make his mind stop. He was looking down while he paced but something made him look in the mirror and his rage exploded. The next thing he knew he was punching into the glass at his own reflection over and over again, until there was no more mirror left on the wall. Blood dripped down his arm from his knuckles and he turned his back to the wall next to the sink and slumped down it to the floor. He was still breathing hard but he could feel his rage dissipate as he started to relax. 

He sat there for a long time, but eventually he got up and made his way to his room. When he got to his hall, you were standing outside of his door, changed back into your clothes from earlier. He took a deep breath as you turned and watched him walk up to the door. 

"Gabriel are you ok?" you asked. 

"I'm fine Y/N." he said apathetically, raising his hand to punch his code in. 

"No, you're not. Talk to me Gabri-" you noticed blood dripping from his wrist as he put his code in then you saw his knuckles. "What happened to your hand!?" 

The door slid open. He sighed again, stepping into his room. You tried to follow him in, but he turned and held you back. 

"Just leave me alone Y/N."

"What happened? Would you just talk to me!"

"Can't you see that I don't want to talk!!" he shouted, then pushed your shoulder, hard, making you stumble back. "Go Y/N! Just Go!" He hit the button to close the door and it slid close in your face. You stood there for a second, then turned and left his building. 

The next day, Jack was walking down the hall making his way to his office when he saw Gabriel emerge from med wing up ahead. As he got closer he noticed the bandage on his hand. 

"What happened to you?" 

Gabriel looked up as Jack came to a stop next to him. 

"Hurt my hand."

Jack looked at him, connecting dots in his mind. 

"You the one responsible for that broken mirror in the men's room?" Gabriel sighed looking down. "Walk with me, “ Jack said.

They started to walk together. 

"What's going on with you? You're breaking mirrors, you don't come home...Y/N came home in tears last night. Seems like this has gone beyond just being pissed off."

"It's more like rage and I just want to hit something."

"Hmm" 

They walked silently until they got to Jack's office. They went in, Gabriel sitting down in front of the desk, Jack going around to his chair and pulling out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, pouring them both a drink. 

Gabriel took a few sips from his glass, then reached for the bottle to top himself up.

"I beat up a guy the other night." Gabriel said, setting the bottle down without pouring a drop. Jack looked up at him in surprise, "I thought he was assaulting this woman. But I guess I imagined it. I beat that man's face to a pulp, which is terrible in and of itself, but what bothers me the most was how much relief I got out of it. It felt good hitting that man until he bled. It felt good punching that mirror. It felt good holding Y/N down and…"

Jack looked at him taking a sip from his glass. 

"Why do you think that is?" he asked. 

"I don't know. Maybe the aggression makes me feel strong, capable. Instead powerless and incompetent."

Jack sighed. 

"Y/N told me you blame yourself. Which I get, I have the same regrets you do. We make decisions, oftentimes with only a split second to think, and people die. I question my own judgment on a regular basis."

"This is different. If I had given him an order and sent him off and he got killed, that'd be one thing. But his death is a direct result of my fuck up. It was my job to handle Daniel, I was supposed to be making sure he was on the up and up." 

"Gabe, you're not the first person to have an informant go rogue. It happens."

"Not to me. I'm supposed to be better than that. I'm the fucking leader, Jack. How am I supposed to do that if I can't even be trusted to do basic shit like vet my own fucking CI?"

Jack shook his head. 

"I know you cared for Tony more than other agents and maybe that's why this one burns so bad, but cut yourself some slack. You're beating yourself up for not being omniscient. I know you think highly of yourself, but come on, you're not God, no matter how badly you want to be.….you arrogant prick."

Gabriel looked up at Jack and they both chuckled a bit. Gabriel took a deep breath, sitting back in his chair, covering his eyes. 

"Y/N's gonna hate me by the time I get past this." 

“I think that’s what you want. Someone else to join you on the “I hate Gabriel” bandwagon,” Jack sighed. “You know, you do this thing where you live in extremes, even Ana has said so.” Gabriel looked up.

“Wait, you and Ana sit around talking about me behind my back?”

“You and Ana sit around talking about me behind my back, so we’re even,” said Jack.

Gabriel shrugged, nodding his head in agreement. Jack rolled his eyes.

“Anyways, it's like…” Jack paused to collect his thoughts, “You know those conversations we’ve had about being called heroes, how much we hate it, cause of all the shit we’ve done?” Gabriel nodded. “I feel like, for Y/N, you try to be this extreme version of a hero. Someone who doesn’t make mistakes, someone who does the right thing all the time for the right reasons. But that’s never been us. We try, but it’s unrealistic, we both know this. But you keep putting on your cape, hoping she won’t see that underneath is just a man who’s done things he’s not proud of, things you're ashamed of. Things that would send your average everyday person to the nuthouse. The closer you two get, the closer she gets to seeing Gabriel the man, and that terrifies you because you think all she’ll see is the blood on your hands, your savagery, and the disdain you have for yourself and your actions, not the good guy she thinks she fell in love with.”

Jack took a sip from his glass.

“Then Tony dies and your self-loathing kicks into high gear and what do you do? Jump to the next extreme. If you can’t be the hero, you’ll become the monster instead. You’re so fucking dramatic. Honestly, I think all this rage you're walking around with is just one big, elaborate, self-hatred fueled, subconscious scheme to get Y/N to cut and run because she’s getting too close.”

"I think you've been watching too many of those psycho-babble talk shows on TV," replied Gabriel. 

Jack shrugged. 

"Maybe. But I'm usually right about these things."

"You think you're right about a lot of things. Who's the arrogant prick now?" 

"Pretty sure that's still you."

"Yeah whatever." Gabriel knocked back the rest of his whiskey, set the glass down, and stood. "I got shit to do. Thanks for the drink….and the talk."

"Better than punching mirrors, right?"

Gabriel shrugged. 

"A close second," both men smiled, "I'll see you later."

"Yep."

Gabriel left. 

Later that night Gabriel was in his room. Sitting on the bed in nothing but his boxers, bottle of whiskey in his hand nearly empty, when a knock came to the door. 

He got up and opened it. You were standing there with a duffel bag on your shoulder. 

"Brought you some clean clothes…and something to eat."

He looked at you for a moment, then stepped aside so you could come in. Gabriel’s room looked like a tornado had blown through it. Clothes were strewn about the place, there was trash everywhere, empty whiskey bottles, food containers, water bottles, soda cans, food wrappers. It smelled like rot and you couldn't tell if it was from food or the dirty sweaty clothes all over the place or something else entirely. 

You made your way to the bed and set the duffel bag down, looking around. Gabriel sat down on the bed, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle he was still holding. There was a dirty shirt on the bed and you picked it up, then turned and started gathering the dirty clothes on the floor in front of you. 

"Stop Y/N." he said 

You continued gathering up the clothes making your way across the room and he got up and came over to you grabbing your arm. 

"Come on Y/N, stop. You don't have to do this," he said, taking the clothes from you.

You watched him as he walked them over to the overflowing hamper and dropped them in front of it. 

"How do you live like this?" you asked. "You can't stand even a minor level of disorder at home but you can live in all of this?" 

"You get used to it," he said as he walked past you to sit back on the bed, picking his whiskey back up. You turned and went to him, kicking the trash on the floor out the way before kneeling down in front of him. Hands on his knees. 

"Please talk to me Gabriel. You know I won't judge you. You know I won't think less of you."

"I'll think less of me. I already do. Talking to you is only gonna make it worse."

That stung but you pushed it aside. You reached up to put your hand on his cheek and he flinched back grabbing your wrist. 

"Don't Y/N." He let your hand go, "Why are you here?" 

You sighed. 

"To show you that I'm here for you. No matter how much you try to push me away." You sighed. "I know what it is to act so violently you scare yourself. I still remember how it felt being on top of Charity, how her pulse felt under my hands as I tightened my grip around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. I remember that darkness taking over, urging me to end her and how good the idea of it felt. You think I don't understand, but I get it Gabriel, I do."

Gabriel could feel his anger starting to rise. As you spoke, all he could think about was how Charity was yet another instance where his ineptitude and failed judgement had gotten people he cared about hurt and killed. 

"I've already hurt you once and I want to do it again. Do you get that!?" he shouted as he lunged forward, snatching your chin into his hand roughly, surprising you, bringing his face closer to yours. "I want to fuck you until you bleed. I want wrap my hand around your neck and choke the fucking life out of you. I think about it all the time. It gets me hard, the thought of hurting you, removing that spark you get in your eyes everytime you look at me. I touch myself thinking about it. Imaging your pain, your fear, your screams, it makes me cum. Do understand Y/N!? I'll hurt you and I'll enjoy it. I'll get off on it and then I'll do it again."

He let your face go with a shove and you looked at him startled. 

"You wanted me to talk to you about it, be open. There's the fucking truth…..Now get the fuck out!" he shouted making you jump. You just sat there looking at him, stunned, and he jumped up grabbing your arm, pulling you up. 

"Wait Gabe," you said, tears starting to roll down your face as he pulled you to the door. "Stop!"

He hit the button for the door to slide open and he shoved you out of it.

"Don't come back here." he snarled. 

He slapped the button to close the door and it slid shut. He turned, fuming. His hands clenching and unclenching. He went to grab the whiskey bottle off the bed and lifted it to take a drink but your tear-streaked face from seconds ago flashed before his eyes and he hesitated. Anger suddenly took over his features before he turned and hurled the bottle at the door, glass shattering it into pieces as the dark liquid it once held began to drip, filling the room with its peppery astringent odor. 

He sunk to the bed, his head in his hands. 

"Come back Y/N, come back. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he whispered to himself.


	10. Putting the Plan in Motion

The time had finally come and you all arrived in Italy and immediately made your way to the safehouse which wasn’t actually a house. It was an abandoned hydroelectric power plant and nature was well into reclaiming it, ivy and moss growing in and around it. The dam that used to power the plant had long dried up, but Gabriel and a team had come out there a while ago and rigged the place with solar panels and generators, providing electricity for lighting, computers, surveillance monitors and other equipment. 

The team settled down well into the center of the plant which was more fortified then other areas inside. There were cots setup to sleep on and a working full service bathroom that Jessica wasn’t too excited about sharing with the other three men. While the others got themselves settled, Gabriel pulled you off to the side to talk to you about your accommodations while you were there.

You weren’t going to be staying in the safehouse with the others. You would be staying in a small apartment in the center of Milan. Your cover had rented it after coming to Italy to dance. 

“You know how to get to the apartment right?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ve studied the route about a million times.”

“We have eyes in there, so if you feel unsafe for any reason, know that we’re watching.”

“They’re watching?” you said nodding toward Jesse and Genji.

“I’m watching, most of the time. There’s no cameras in the bathroom so if you need, I don't know, some me-time you can go in there.” You nodded.

It was obvious from the way you spoke to each other that your relationship was strained. After your last interaction, him putting you out his room, you realized he was never going to be receptive to any of the support you tried to show him so you backed off. A tinge of bitterness towards him set in and you felt bad for feeling that way. Your conversations these days were strictly about the mission and you hadn’t slept in the same bed since the night he asked you to join in on the operation.

“You have the credit card I gave you?” he asked.

“I have it Gabriel, and my passport, and my keys to the apartment and my phone and anything else you think I might have forgotten,” you said, irritation in your voice.

“I just want to make sure you’re ready….and that you have money to eat tonight.” You sighed, your irritation fading a bit.

“Angelica?”

“Yes?” you replied immediately.

“Good, it should be just like that, second nature.” 

He looked at you for a minute then started raising his hand to touch your cheek but you turned from him. 

“If we’re done here, I’m gonna head to the apartment now. I’ve got a long walk ahead of me,” you said, starting to take your leave as you adjusted your backpack on your back.

“Wait,” you turned around, looking at him, slightly annoyed. "Y/N," he said, looking forlorn. “I love you. I know things aren’t good between us right now, but I love you.” you sighed.

“I love you too Gabriel. I just wish you believed it.” You turned and made your way out of the power plant. 

You walked for about an hour to a hotel, then ordered a rideshare from there to take you to the apartment. The hotel had a well known spa inside of it so if anyone looked into Angelica’s rideshare activity it would look like she was there.

The apartment was a corner unit on the top floor of a three level building. It was cute and clean with a small living room, a tiny kitchen and a small bedroom behind two glass french doors. 

You unpacked your bag, putting away the clothes and toiletries you had packed, then you sat on the bed and laid back looking at the ceiling. There was nothing to do until tomorrow, so you just laid there, eventually taking out one of your push daggers to toss in the air and catch as you thought about you and Gabriel. 

You didn't want to be upset with him. He was grieving, something you were no stranger to. You were well aware how difficult it was and how difficult you were to be around. At least the second time around you had Gabriel to help you through it and it wasn't like you had run to him for support either. He had made it easy for you. He was just there. Still, you knew what it was like to feel like you had to do things on your own, to feel uncomfortable asking for help or support, knew what it was to suffer in silence. Ironically, Gabriel had been the one to teach you how to reach out for help, that it was ok to seek comfort from others, to seek comfort from him. It was just like him to be stubborn and not follow his own advice. 

What tore at you the most was the regret he had for coming to you in the first place. You almost felt like he blamed you for wanting him to be more open with you. And what was wrong with that? You had been laying yourself bare and wide open to this man since the day you walked into his office over two years ago and he was still struggling to tell you about the full extent of his career. You still had to find things out about him second hand and when he did finally open up to you it was only bits and pieces of information. You still didn't have his trust. Not like he had yours. 

He had told you not to get involved in this mission to prove anything to him but deep down that was part of your motivation to say yes. If you could show him that you could handle what he did, that you were willing to get down in the muck with him and get your hands dirty. Then maybe he'd realize that nothing he said or did was going to make you run. That you loved the dark side of him as much as you loved the light. He could bring all of himself to the table good, bad, and ugly and you'd still be there. 

Meanwhile back at the safehouse, the team was setting up equipment, getting the feeds up on monitors for the apartment and laptops hooked up to screens. When the apartment feed came up Jessica stopped what she was doing and looked at it, watching you toss your dagger in the air as you laid on the bed. She looked at the other monitors taking in the apartment's decor from the other camera angels.

“Explain to me again why Y/N doesn’t have to rough it here with us,” said Jessica.

Gabriel popped up from under the table the monitors were on. He had been down there organizing cords and plugging other things into a power strip. He stood.

“Because we can’t be seen together for one, two it lends credibility to her cover story, and three I want her to be comfortable so she feels relaxed when we put the plan in motion tomorrow.”

“Why do I get the feeling reason number three outweighs the other two?” She huffed a laugh, “You really are pathetic. God forbid your delicate princess has to lay on a hard cot or experience any sort of discomfort on your watch.” 

“Piss off Jessica,” he said as he sat at one of the laptops and turned it on. She smiled.

“Why because I’m right? I wonder if she ever gets tired of you treating her like she’s too fragile to do anything.”

“I don’t treat her like that. She’s one of the strongest women I know. I just try to protect her, that’s my job.”

“Well, you do your "job" a little too well. I get the feeling she thinks the same thing.”

“You don’t know what you're talking about Jessica. You don’t know her like I do.”

Jessica shrugged. 

“Maybe not, but I know what I see. I know you narrowed the time we have to shoot Vincenzo by keeping us from moving on him while she’s on stage. Which, by the way, everyone, except you, agrees would be the perfect time to get him. But no, it’s not safe for Y/N, even though she thinks it's a good idea too. But you won't entertain it if it means she has to see him get shot, because it might upset these oh so sensitive sensibilities you think she has.

Gabriel was irritated now and he turned to her.

“Jessica, I’m not rehashing this shit with you again. I made the decision I made and I’m not gonna continue to put up with you questioning me every step of the way. I let you all have input into this, but at the end of the day, this isn’t a fucking democracy. I’m the leader of Blackwatch,” he pointed to himself, “Me, and if you don’t like how I run shit then Jack and Overwatch will be happy to welcome you back with open arms. You want to stay here, then do what the fuck I tell you to do and keep your grumblings about it to yourself.” he snapped.

She looked at him blinking. 

“Geez I was just pointing out how you treat her.”

“Well I didn’t ask for your fucking observations on my relationship. What goes on between me and Y/N is between us, keep your nose out of it.”

He turned from her, back to the laptop and she stared at him for a moment before she turned around to walk away. Jesse had been sitting nearby and when their eyes met, he raised his eyebrows like he couldn’t believe how testy Gabriel was being either. But neither of them was surprised. Gabriel had been short with all of them in one way or another prior to coming to Italy and now they were all treading lightly, trying to determine what topics could possibly set him off. Jessica had obviously found one.

You went out and got take-out for dinner, eating on the couch as you looked over maps for the area surrounding the club and time tables for the metro tomorrow. At some point you must have fallen asleep, because when you opened your eyes next, it was morning. You sat up and stretched, wiping at your eyes. You began to undress dropping your clothes on the floor in the living room. You walked to the bedroom and got a towel and made your way to the bathroom for a shower. 

When you got out you went to the bedroom to dry off then you hung your towel up and laid your naked body down on the bed, on your back. You reached for your phone and turned it on to check for any messages. Suddenly one came in.

G: Did you forget about the cameras?

“OH SHIT!” 

You jumped up and grabbed your towel wrapping it back around you. Once covered, you slapped your hands to your face, mortified. Your phone chimed and you went to pick it up. Another message from Gabriel.

G: I’m the only one watching right now. Just be mindful.

You gave a thumbs up. Then dropped your phone on the bed and stuck two middle fingers up in the air. Your phone chimed. You picked it up.

G: You’re sexy when you're grumpy. BTW there’s sound. I can hear you too.

“Good, then kiss my ass Gabriel!” You got another message.

G: Gladly

You rolled your eyes as you tossed the phone on the bed and went to collect your clothes so you could get dressed in the bathroom. Once you were dressed, you went downstairs and walked to a cafe on the corner for a light breakfast that you really just picked at. Today was the day. Today you would help Gabriel and his team kill Tony’s killer. Thinking about it made it difficult to eat, so you went back to the apartment and channeled you energy into keeping busy. 

You pushed the furniture in the living room out the way as much as you could and did a bit of functional stretching, then you worked on your choreography for your dance. You stretched some more then took out your push daggers and worked on your fighting. You ate up the rest of the time exploring around the area the apartment was in. Looking around the shops, walking around the parks. It helped take your mind off of what you were going to have to do later. 

Soon it was time to leave. You went home and showered again, then dressed in sweatpants and a tank top and made your way to the club via the metro, with your dance dress and a gym bag. You got there an hour before the VIP section opened like you all had planned, and were escorted to a small dressing room in the backstage area. You removed your dress from the garment bag you had it in and hung it up as you took the time to stretch again. You were still anxious about tonight and stretching helped alleviate some of that. 

About 35 minutes passed and the alarm you had set on your phone made it vibrate on the dressing table. You got up and left the room, looking to your left and your right, making sure the hall was clear. You swiftly walked to the door at the end of the hall and pushed it open. 

“Right on time,” said Jesse.

Jesse, Gabriel and Jessica came in dressed for their “jobs.” They were all wearing black and white pinstripe suit vests over white dress shirts and matching slacks, the uniform of the wait staff in the club. Gabriel was the last to come in and he looked at you as the door shut behind him.

“You ok?” he asked.

“I’m good.” 

You began to walk with them as they quickly made their way down the hall, stopping at the dressing room, Gabriel stopped with you, grabbing your hand. You turned to him.

“Good luck out there.” he said.

“You too.”

He looked like he wanted to kiss you but he squeezed your hand instead then let go of it following after Jesse and Jessica.

They exited into the empty VIP area which was like a small club within the club. The black stage where performances were held took up the back wall of the room. In front of that, on the floor, was a red velvet tufted couch with a rolled back and arms that had nailhead detailing with a table in front of it. From the pictures Jessica’s friend took, this is usually where Vincenzo sat to enjoy the live entertainment. On either side of the stage just in front of where the couch was, were two tables where lucky patrons could get an up close view of whatever show was being put on. 

A small flight of three stairs was located to the left and right of the couch and led up to where more tables and chairs were setup for patrons to drink and eat as they watched the show. Along two of the walls were clusters of black leather couches and chairs where people having private parties could congregate with their guests. The last wall was where a large bar and the door to the kitchen was located.

“You three,” called a man to Gabriel, Jessica, and Jesse and they turned around. “You my new hires?”

“Yes,” they all said in unison. He walked over to them with a holopad in his hand looking at it.

“Let’s see, I’m assuming you're Annabelle,” he said to Jessica. She nodded. He gave her a suspicious look. “I thought you were blonde.”

“I...I’m trying something new,” she said. He looked at her for a minute, then shrugged.

“Tomas?” he asked looking at Gabriel. He nodded. “And Jesse,” he said looking at Jesse.

Jesse’s eyes went wide as he looked left and right. Panic hitting him.

“What?” 

“Jesse Lima, that’s your name right?”

“Ye...yeah yeah that's my name,” said Jesse.

“You sound different than you did during the phone interview.” said the man.

“I had a cold, but I’m all better now.”

“Good. We’re not big on training here. All of you said you were experienced on your applications and I expect that to bear out. You break anything, it comes out of your check. You upset the customers, it comes out of your check. You upset Mr. Bacchelli, you disappear. Got it?”

“Got it,” they all said.

“Well...When you say disappear….?” asked Jesse

“I mean you're fired.” Jesse took a relieved breath. 

“Oh ok, that’s what I thought.”

Jessica looked at Jesse like he was crazy.

“This is VIP, you're under tougher scrutiny back here. I suggest none of you fuck it up.”

They nodded.

“Now, Annabelle, you’ll be working the couches against the wall and the two tables to the right of the stage. Tomas, you’ve got those four tables over there and the two tables to the left of the stage. Jesse, I’ll show you to the kitchen. You’ll be responsible for cleaning up all the empty plates and glasses, without making yourself a nuisance to the patrons.”

“Good luck with that,” said Jessica under her breath.

The man handed Jessica and Gabriel small holopads to take orders on. 

“They’ll be letting people back here soon, get in your places and let's have a good night.”

Jessica raised her finger.

“Uh..excuse me Mr..?

“Rollo, just Rollo.”

“Rollo, um….will I be responsible for serving Mr. Bacchelli? He’s gonna be on that couch right?” she pointed to the red couch in front of the stage.

“Mr. Bacchelli has his own personal wait staff, you don’t have to worry about him.”

She nodded.

“Jesse, come with me,” said Rollo and they walked off together toward the bar area and through the kitchen door. 

Jessica and Gabriel looked at each other, silently touching their ears to turn on their micro comms and went to take their posts in their designated sections. Several minutes later, music started to filter in through the speakers from the DJ booth outside the VIP area, then a curtain was pulled back and patrons started to come in taking seats at tables and couches and at the bar. More wait staff came in and everyone got to work taking orders. 

Jessica spoke italian so she had no trouble communicating. Gabriel, on the other hand, couldn’t speak a lick of it but there were similarities between spanish and italian so he was able to make due, a little bit. Most times he just gave up and asked if they spoke English, and he found a lot of the patrons were eager to flex their English skills so that helped. 

Jessica acted like she was going to sneeze and put her mouth and nose in the crook of her elbow. 

"I didn't know you knew how to wait tables," she said. 

"I know how to do a lot of things," said Gabriel, turning from a table, to tap an order into his holopad. "I'm more surprised about you. Aren't you a little rich girl? When have you ever had to wait tables?"

"I beg your pardon. My first job in high school was waitressing. My dad wouldn't increase my allowance so I had to work for it."

"How much was he giving you?" 

"$500 a week."

"Oh poor Jessica. Your dad was such a tyrant," he said sarcastically. 

"Whatever. It's a good thing we made Jesse the bus boy. He'd be drowning right now."

Jesse came out the kitchen door with a black apron around his waist holding a tub to collect dishes. 

"You know I can hear you right?" he said. 

"I'm aware," said Jessica. 

"How's it going Genji?" asked Gabriel. 

"All is good over here. Glad I don't have to be working a fake job with the rest of you."

"What'd I tell you Genji, that body of yours is a blessin' in disguise." said Jesse. 

"I guess you're right in this case."

The clientele was typical of what you’d expect in any club's VIP section; a lot of rich 20-somethings throwing money around, ready to party. Some had started the party early and were headed toward having too good of a time. Gabriel had a group of young women like this in his section and they made it known that they found him attractive or one part of him at least. His ass had already been groped and pinched numerous times in the short period since they sat down. 

"When is this guy showing up? We could've shot his ass by now," said Jessica after a bit of time had passed. 

"What if he doesn't show?" asked Jesse. 

"We'll figure something else out," said Gabriel. 

More than an hour had passed and Vincenzo had yet to make an appearance. Your performance was coming up soon and Gabriel was beginning to think they had planned all this for nothing. Suddenly, the table of drunk young women started shrieking.

“VINCENZO!” 

He came in in a dark casual suit, an expensive watch around his wrist, and a silver chain around his neck, smirking to himself as he made his way down to the couch in front of the stage and took his seat. 

Vincenzo was in one word, gorgeous, like he had stepped off the cover of some erotic novel and to be with him, many women would and did overlook the fact he was also a trafficker of women and children, a murderer, a drug smuggler, a gun runner, and a whole slew of other unsexy and really quite frightening things. 

Vincenzo was tall and muscular, ripped abs and pecs, biceps and traps for days. He had dark olive toned skin and dark features, piercing dark chocolate brown eyes, lashes that women coveted, a light neatly trimmed beard and mustache that complemented the shape of his chiseled face. Full lips, that he loved to lick and raven black, wavy, shoulder length hair that he often wore in a ponytail or half up, but tonight his locks were free. He was in his early 30’s and richer than God. He had just put himself back on the market three months ago after breaking up with his last bimbo/model girlfriend and the fact that he was dangerous only added to his appeal, hence the shrieking. 

Jessica had been right about the lack of security accompanying him. Usually he had at least two guards with him, but he came in alone. As soon as he sat down, a slight man in a black suit came over to him and Vincenzo spoke into his ear. The man nodded and made his way to the backstage area.

You were in the dressing room, dressed in your costume ready to go on stage in about 10 minutes. You sat at the vanity nervously tapping your foot, trying to breathe deeply through the anxiety you felt.

“You can do this,” you said to yourself, “You can do this.”

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. You got up and went to open it. A slight man in a black suit was on the other side holding a hanger with an outfit on it and a pair of heels. 

“Yes?” you said.

“Mr. Bacchelli has requested you wear this,” said the man. You looked at him confused.

“What? I’m already wearing my costume.”

“This is what he wants,” he said pushing the outfit and the shoes toward you.

“Well, can I talk to him about it? Because what I have on is what I’m wearing.”

“Miss, there is no talking to Mr. Bacchelli, only doing what he asks. This is his club, this is what he wants. You don’t want to disappoint him.” He again pushed the clothes toward you. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” you said under your breath before you sighed and took the clothes then closed the door to quickly get changed.

It was time for your performance. You made your way to the stairs for the stage and climbed them, waiting for your introduction. 

“Introducing The Queen of Samba!!”

 _What the fuck?_ you thought. You expected them to use your assumed name but you didn’t have time to dwell on it. You came out on stage and took your position, back facing the tables of onlookers and Vincenzo on his couch. 

Jessica looked up at the stage and saw you. Her eyes went wide.

“Oh….My….God” she said.

Gabriel heard Jessica and when he looked up, the intro to your music was starting. His eyes went wide, his mouth dropped open, and his holopad fell to the ground. 

_I'm gonna to kill her_ he thought.


	11. To Little Rabbits

You were onstage in a traditional samba costume, which was essentially a swarovski crystal embellished g-string bikini and swarovski embellished stripper heels that had straps that snaked up around your calves. Along with that, you wore large pink, purple, and black ombre feathered wings and a swarovski crystal headpiece with the same colored feathers coming out the top.

Gabriel short circuited when he realized what you had on was not what was planned. Then his soul proceeded to leave his body as you started to dance, winding your hips and rolling your body as you moved from one side of the stage to the other and when you did the actual steps of the samba, one leg rapidly moving in front of the other as your hips rapidly moved from left to right, he thought he might pass out. 

The worst part was when you danced with your back facing the audience. All he could focus on was your bare ass cheeks jiggling as you moved your hips. Then you did this move where you were slightly bent over rapidly shaking your ass left and right and he closed his fist tightly and silently prayed for the strength to not run up there and yank you off the stage.

Luckily for him the dance was soon over and you were bowing and making your way off the stage to roaring applause, the loudest of it coming from the club's male patrons. He could see Vincenzo from where he was, standing, joining in on the applause. Vincenzo waved the slight man over and whispered something to him and the man quickly walked toward the backstage area. 

Jessica was next to a table on the floor, diagonal from the couch where Vincenzo stood.

“I have the shot,” she said. 

This snapped Gabriel out of his stupor and he looked across the room at where Jessica was standing, her gun tucked close to her, aimed at Vincenzo, ready to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, a woman walked up behind her and tapped her on her shoulder.

“Shit! No, I don’t,” she said low, frustration in her voice. She plastered a wide smile on her face, quickly tucking her gun back into her vest as she turned to face the women. “How can I help you ma’am?”

As you were coming down the stairs backstage to head back to the dressing room. The slight man from before called out to you.

“Miss.”

You turned around and realized it was the man that had given you the costume earlier.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Bacchelli requests your presence.”

“Ok, well I need to get changed first.”

“He would like you to come to him now, dressed as you are.”

You looked confused.

“Um...Ok?”

The man escorted you from the backstage area out into the main room.

Jesse had been positioned next to the door about to get the shot off, when you came out, your feathered wings instantly blocking his view. The slight man escorted you over to where Vincenzo was sitting and Vincenzo looked at you giving a sly smile, before saying something in italian.

“Your name miss?” asked the slight man.

“Angelica Roman,” you said.

Vincenzo said something else.

“Mr. Bacchelli would like you to walk in front of him, up that way and then come back.” 

You scrunched your face, puzzled by the request, and looked at the man. He gestured for you to walk forward. You took a deep breath and did what he asked, looking at Vincenzo leaned back on the couch, his eyes tracking your every movement as you walked in front of where he sat, a smile forming on his face as he spread his legs open. You couldn’t tell if it was done voluntarily or involuntarily.

He ran his hand through his hair, eyes on every curve and dip of your body. You could almost feel the heat in them, as if he were touching each section of skin his gaze laid on. 

He said something to you in italian and he realized you couldn’t understand.

“English?” he asked. You nodded.

He sat forward in his seat as you turned and walked back the other way and you could see in your peripheral vision, as you passed him, that he was reaching out to touch your ass. You turned quickly and slapped his hand away. There was a momentary pause and he looked almost in disbelief at what you had done. Panic started to fill your stomach. Then a smile spread across his face and you relaxed.

“You're a spicy one aren’t you?” he said with a smirk, “I like it.” He sat back against the couch.

The whole time all of this was going on Gabriel, Jesse and Jessica had been moving around the club, trying to get in the best position to shoot Vincenzo.

“Can anyone take the shot,” asked Gabriel.

“No, the Queen of Samba and her plummage are in the fucking way,” said Jessica.

“Jesse?” asked Gabriel.

“I could try, but I’m pretty sure I’d just end up hitting Y/N.”

“What the fuck is she doing?” said Jessica aggravation in her voice “None of this was part of the plan.”

Gabriel sighed, “I have no fucking idea. She was supposed to be gone by now.”

Vincenzo grabbed your hand and pulled you toward him, licking his lips as he pat his leg, letting you know he wanted you to sit on it. You instead, sat down next to him on the couch and he smiled as he turned to you and gently grabbed your chin in his hand.

“Tell me la mia stella, are you shy?” he asked.

“A little bit,” you said, averting your gaze from his.

“Look at me,” he said and you slowly returned your gaze back to his.

He looked at you silently for a minute or so, his eyes seeming to light up as they looked into yours, then he let you go.

“How long have you been dancing?” 

“Years,” you said.

“Is samba the only thing you know?” You shook your head. He smiled, “Good.”

“Drink with me,” he said, snapping his fingers at the slight man who had been standing there this whole time. Vincenzo commanded him in italian and he went to get you both drinks. “You’re American, yes?”

“Yes,” you answered.

“What is a little rabbit like you doing so far away from home all by yourself?”

“Dancing and traveling.”

He looked at you putting his hand back on your chin, his thumb on your lips, which made you jump. He began to slowly run his thumb over them, smearing trace amounts of your saliva across them as he looked at them, biting the side of his own lip.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked his eyes back on yours, his gaze intense.

“That man said your name was Bacchelli something.”

He smirked and slid his hand to your cheek then placed his other hand on your bare thigh, the heat of his touch setting off tingles that traveled up your leg. He leaned in close to your ear, breathing his warm breath on your skin, making your hairs stand on end, his face centimeters from touching yours. You could smell the shampoo he used on his hair and the warm scent of his cologne.

“I’m the big bad wolf, who devours little rabbits like you for breakfast,” he whispered seductively in your ear. 

A shiver went through you, partly arousal, partly fear and you did your best to hide all of it as he pulled back and started to stroke your cheek with the back of his fingers. Before you could think better of it, you grasped his hand from your face, a smart retort on the tip of your tongue, when the slight man came back with vodka shots, three shots for both of you. Vincenzo turned, releasing his hand from your grasp as he grabbed a shot and held it up in a toast.

“To little rabbits,” he said with a smile.

You took a deep breath and grabbed one of yours and clinked your glass with his before you both knocked them back.

“What the absolute fuck is she doing?!” exclaimed Jessica.

“Pipe down Jessica, I can hear you across the room,” Gabriel said, aggravated.

He would have had a direct sight line to Vincenzo from where he stood but your wings were blocking his view and all he could see was the back of you. He started to slowly cross the room, walking in front of the stage to the other side of the floor, where Jessica's assigned tables were. 

He could now see Vincenzo was turned toward you, sitting close as he spoke to you. He was slowly running the back of his finger down the top of your thigh to your knee, his other hand held yours in it and he was bringing it to his lips, as he spoke to you before kissing the back of it. You smiled and something about your smile made Gabriel freeze. It was obvious Vincenzo was flirting with you, but the seduction in your grin told Gabriel you were flirting back and it made his blood boil. 

He started quickly moving toward the stairs, thinking maybe he could get the shot off from behind Vincenzo, but once he was in position you and Vincenzo stood up from the couch. Vincenzo put his arm around your waist and began to escort you to the door for the backstage area. Seeing his chance slipping, Gabriel took the shot, and missed. 

Vincenzo was so engaged in his conversation with you he didn't even register the bullet fly by him and lodge into the wall. 

"Fuck! I missed him," said Gabriel. 

At this point, Vincenzo had opened the door, both of you had walked through it and it closed behind you. 

"I got it," said Jessica as she ran past Gabriel, pulling open the door and running in. The hall was empty. She started running as quietly and as quickly as she could to the dressing room. She grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open, her gun up ready to shoot. 

You were standing there topless and you yelped as you quickly covered your chest with your arm. 

"What the fuck Jessica?!" 

"Where's Vincenzo?!" 

"I don't know. I thought he went back out to the club?"

Suddenly you both heard tires screeching from the back entrance. 

"Shit!" yelled Jessica taking off running to the back exit. Suddenly Gabriel and Jesse burst through the backstage door from the VIP area, just catching a glimpse of Jessica as she ran out the exit. 

Jessica ran after the car which had just peeled off, lifting her gun to shoot at it, but it was moving too fast. She stopped running as the car disappeared in the distance. 

Gabriel and Jesse caught up to her. 

"Did you get him?" asked Jesse. She shook her head as she caught her breath. 

"He got away."

"Fuck!" Gabriel yelled angrily, "Shit!" He took a few deep breaths covering his eyes with his hand. "Let's get back to the van."

You took the metro back to the apartment and let yourself into a dark living room. Suddenly a hand came out of the darkness and grabbed you. You let out a scream that was quickly stifled by a hand over your mouth.

“It's me,” said Gabriel, he let you go.

You flipped the light switch on the wall and shoved him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” you exclaimed.

“Me?! What the fuck were you doing?! We had a plan Y/N and you fucked it up! And what the fuck were you wearing!?”

“He wanted me to wear that, I didn’t have a choice.”

“We couldn’t get the shot off because you were in the fucking way! We may damn well have missed our only chance to take this fucker out all because you can never stick to the plan we fucking agreed to!”

“Don’t put this on me. He asked me to come out there. What was I supposed to do?”

“Stay the fuck out of the way! Not sit there letting him fondle you." He let out an angry sigh. "This is exactly why I didn’t want you to be a part of this, because you're not one of us and you have no fucking clue what your doing!”

That burned and you tried not to show it on your face. You stood there looking at each other, hurt in your eyes and anger in his. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Did you invite someone here,” he asked low, his voice barely audible.

You shook your head. He pulled out his gun and started to move toward the door. He pressed himself to the wall so when you opened the door he’d be behind it. Then he gestured for you to answer it. You slowly pulled the door open.

It was the slight man from the club, standing there with an obscenely large bouquet of flowers.

“Mr. Bacchelli sends his regards,” he said, handing you the flowers.

“How...How do you know where I live? How did you find me?” you asked, taking them from him.

“If Mr. Bacchelli wants to know something, he can easily find it out.”

“Ok?....Um, thank you.” The man said nothing and turned to walk away, “Goodnight,” you called.

You closed the door taking the card out the flowers as you moved to set them down on the coffee table in the living room. Gabriel holstered his gun and followed you, sitting down on the couch, his demeanor still angry. You stood there and opened the card and read it.

“Looks like you might get another chance,” you said. He looked at you, “He wants to take me to dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for those who can't visualize a traditional samba costume it is literally what the ladies wear at Carnival in Brazil and for any of you interested in what samba choreography looks like check this out. I came across this video in my research and OMG this woman is my hero.
> 
> [youtu.be/oB0Rh6OWbW0](https://youtu.be/oB0Rh6OWbW0)  
> **********************************************************************************  
> Translations:  
> la mia stella - my star


	12. Dinner, Dessert, and So Much More

Early the next morning, you carefully made your way to the safehouse. Now that you knew that Vincenzo knew where you lived, you wanted to make sure he wasn’t having you followed for any reason. When you got there Jesse, Genji, and Jessica were all up, dismantling the monitors and laptops they had set up. Gabriel wasn’t in the room.

“What are you guys doing?” you asked.

“Packing up,” said Jessica.

“Why?”

“We failed our mission Y/N. We’re going home,” said Genji.

“What do you mean failed? We still have a chance.”

“What are you talking about? We blew our only chance last night,” said Jessica.

“Gabriel didn’t tell you?” They all stopped and looked at you. “Vincenzo wants to have dinner with me tomorrow night. It’s one more opportunity, one more shot at him.”

They all looked confused. Suddenly you felt a presence behind you and you turned around to see an irritated Gabriel.

“I didn’t tell them, because like I told you last night, you're not doing it,” he said.

“Wait, so let me get this straight. We have another shot at Vincenzo and you're _not_ gonna take it?” asked Jesse.

“No, I’m not. Not like that. We’re gonna go home, regroup, and think of another approach, or, I don’t know, just let the shit go,” said Gabriel. 

“Let it go?! Are you kidding me right now? We’re already here, committed to vengeance, why wouldn't we take every chance we could get to take out Vincenzo?” asked Jessica.

Gabriel sighed. 

“Because we’re not using Y/N like this. We’re not running an escort service here. She’s not a prostitute Jessica and I’m not pimping her out to fucking Vincenzo Bacchelli.”

“It wouldn’t be like that Gabriel. It's just dinner, chatting him up,” you said.

“The last time we sent someone to chat Vincenzo up, he ended up gutted in a fucking slaugterhouse. We’re not doing this.”

Jessica had been standing there thinking to herself as you and Gabriel spoke.

“This could work,” she said and everyone looked at her. “Think about it. We wanted to embed Tony into Vincenzo’s confidence so we could use that relationship to gather more intel on Vincenzo and his family’s illegal dealings and take out other people connected to them. We could still do that now and kill him, with Y/N.”

“It’s too risky Jessica.”

“For who, for Y/N? Sounds to me like she’s game, right?” she asked looking at you.

“Right. Gabriel just let me do this-” he cut you off. 

“Let you dangle yourself out there as bait. Let you seduce Vincenzo,” he shook his head. “No, I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit.”

“Let me at least try Gabe. Like Jessica said, we’re already here, we might as well make the most of it. If it doesn’t work, we all go home and I bow out of this thing for good.”

He sighed as he stood there taking in everyone’s faces as he thought. After several minutes he sighed in acquiescence. 

“Fine, we'll try it. If it doesn’t work we’re going home.” 

“Yes!” cheered Jessica, pumping her arm.

“You guys hook this stuff back up.” He looked at you, “You come with me.” 

You nodded and followed behind him as he walked toward the front of the power plant to an area that was much quieter and where you both wouldn’t be heard. He turned to you. 

“First of all, don’t ever do that again, undermine me in front of my team. I made a decision last night and that decision should have been final, not brought up for debate with them."

“I just thought they should have all the information so they can have a say.”

“Y/N, I’m gonna tell you just like I told Jessica, this isn’t a democracy. I’m the leader of Blackwatch, I determine what they need to know and whether their input is necessary, not you.”

“Fine,” you said, rolling your eyes. He took a deep breath.

“I don’t like this. This is like Charity all over again, except I’ve given my blessing to it.”

“Then you know I can do this.”

“That shit almost destroyed us Y/N.”

“Look at where we are now. Right now, are we any better off?” He sighed. “You said you needed to do this. You're convinced this will help you move past whatever is going on with you and if that's the case then for once, just let me help you.”

He looked at you for a moment, then moved his hand forward to touch your cheek but you backed out of reach and he sighed deeply as he lowered his hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, starting to tap rapidly,

“What are you doing?” you asked.

“Putting more money on the credit card. Go buy a dress, get your hair done,” he looked at you, “Knock his socks off Y/N.”

You smiled a bit then nodded. 

The next day you came back to the apartment, after spending the morning and early afternoon shopping and getting your hair and nails done for the dinner. The day before, you had texted Vincenzo back at the phone number he wrote on the card to take him up on the date and he texted to let you know he’d be there to pick you up at 8pm

You showered and got dressed. You picked out a long white, grecian style tulle dress, with a deep plunging neckline. It had a gold braided belt wrapped around the middle and there were two slits up the front that hit high on the thigh. You got gold heels to match. Your hair was half up with a french braid on each side that came together into one braid in the back that was wrapped in a cute design and secured with pins, the rest was down in waves. Golden leaf shaped hairpins were tucked into the french braids on the sides. 

It was almost time for Vincenzo to pick you up and you were spraying on perfume when you heard a knock at your door. You went to answer it assuming Vincenzo was early, but when you opened it, Gabriel was standing on the other side.

“What are you doing here? You can’t be here.” you said as he quickly came in.

“I know, I was careful. Here.”

He held out his hand, inside was a necklace and a single contact lense case. The necklace was a small white gemstone pendant on a delicate gold chain. You looked at him. He pointed to the contact lense case. 

“This is a camera, so we have eyes inside the restaurant," then he pointed to the necklace, "This is its mic. Everything you hear and see we’ll hear and see as well.” 

You took the contact lense case and set it on the coffee table, then took the necklace from his hand and undid the clasp to put it on.

“Let me.” he said. 

You hesitated at first but gave it to him and turned around. He grabbed both ends and brought the necklace over your head to rest against your neck as he brought the ends together to secure it.

“We’ll be in a van down the street from the restaurant. If you feel unsafe for any reason, get up and leave and we’ll back you up.” You nodded.

When the necklace was secured he leaned forward and kissed the back of your neck, the first time you had felt his kiss in weeks. You turned around and reached down for the contact lense case, unscrewing it and putting the lense in your eye, blinking when it was in place.

"Good?" you asked. 

Gabriel touched his ear. 

"Jessica, how we looking on the lense cam?" 

"I can see you crystal clear," she said, only he could hear her. 

"And sound?" 

"All good."

"We're good," he said to you. 

You both stood there for a second or two silently looking at each other, his eyes moving down and then up, taking you in. 

“You look beautiful,” he said, tenderness in his eyes. 

“You should go before Vincenzo gets here.” He closed his eyes and sighed then turned to head to the door. You followed behind him.

“Good luck tonight and remember we’ll be right there if you get into trouble,” he said. 

“Got it.” 

He grabbed the door knob and turned to you taking you in one more time. He leaned forward and kissed your cheek.

“I love you.” 

“I love you too,” you replied, but you realized it was driven more by habit than anything else.

He opened the door and left. 

About 10 minutes later, Vincenzo was knocking at your door, in an expensive dark blue suit, and he smiled wide when you opened it, his eyes lighting up as he took you in.

“Goddess,” he said, making you blush as you smiled. He offered you his arm and escorted you downstairs to a limo that was waiting out front. You got in and the car headed toward the restaurant.

“Is it strange that I find you even more attractive with a majority of your clothes on?” he said. You huffed a laugh.

“I don’t know.

“I see you decided to wear white.” he said. “The color of purity and innocence.” He put his hand on your bare thigh which was exposed through the slit in your dress and he slowly slid it up, looking at you as he did, sending tingles straight to your core. “Is that what you’re trying to show me Angelica, how innocent you are?”

You looked at him, straight in his eyes, and gave a seductive smirk.

“I’m far from innocent Vincenzo,” you said low.

He returned your expression. His hand had stopped just before your core and he moved his fingers to the inside and gave a squeeze and you parted your lips as you inhaled slowly and breathed it out, never taking your eyes of his. He started to chuckle as he removed his hand and sat back against the seat smiling.

“I asked you before, if you know who I am, have you educated yourself since then?” he asked.

“A bit,” you answered.

“What did you find out?”

“That you’re a dangerous man.”

“Mmm, and does that bother you la mia stella?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Is that so?” he turned to you grabbing your chin turning your face to his, “Tell me why that is.”

“I’ve known dangerous men. I don’t scare easily. If you're anything like them, I have nothing to worry about.” he smiled.

“Trust me Angelica, I’m nothing like what you’ve experienced. I promise you that.”

“We’ll see.” you said with a sly smile.

“I’m itching to show you.” He started to stroke your chin with his thumb.

The sexual tension between you both was palpable. You couldn’t deny that Vincenzo was highly attractive, and something about the way he carried himself was a definite turn on. But you kept the mission and your purpose in the forefront of your mind. You’d play his seductive little games, but always with the mindset of working toward your ultimate goal which was to help Gabriel take him down in the end.

When you arrived, Vincenzo got out and helped you out of the limo. You wrapped your arm around his as he escorted you into a very upscale restaurant. As soon as he walked in, the hostess abandoned taking care of the guests in front of the stand and grabbed menus, coming over to him as annoyed guests watched.

“Good evening Mr. Bacchelli. Will you be dining in the usual room tonight?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Right this way,” she said, leading you both to a private dining room. 

The room had mirrored walls so you could see your reflection at all angles. There was a table dressed in gold and white in the middle of the room and Vincenzo led you to it, pulling out your chair before taking a seat across from you. The hostess then came over and handed you both menus.

“We have your usual wine, chilled and ready to pour sir.” the hostess said.

“Not tonight. Tonight is a special occasion,” he said looking at you, “I want champagne. Dom Pérignon.” 

“Right away sir,” she said, leaving the room. You watched her as she left and spoke when the door finally shut behind her.

“Is that normal?” you asked.

“Is what normal?” 

“People jumping to do what you want,” he smiled, opening his menu.

“I’m well known in Milan. People like to make sure I enjoy myself when I’m out.”

“They like to make sure? Or you like for them to make sure?” 

“Is there a difference?”

You huffed a laugh rolling your eyes a bit and opened your menu. A few minutes later a waiter came in with an ice bucket and stand, the champagne on ice inside the bucket. He set it off to the side of Vincenzo then opened the bottle and poured you both a glass. 

Vincenzo started speaking to him in italian and before you knew it he was taking your menu from you and leaving the room.

“Did you just order for me?” you asked.

“I did.” 

“So what am I eating?”

“Something delicious,” he said with a suggestive smile. 

“I hope so,” you said, returning it. 

Meanwhile, in the van down the street, Gabriel and Jessica sat in front of the monitors in the back watching and listening to your date, while Genji and Jesse sat up front. Gabriel’s irritation at the situation was obvious from the way he sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at certain intervals. He couldn’t stand watching Vincenzo touch you and he hated the lascivious looks he gave you. What he hated most was the idea that you were looking back at him in the same way, hated the suggestive tone in your voice when you spoke to him, the way it insinuated Vincenzo could have access to your body and so much more.

Vincenzo said something and you gave a triling laugh. Jessica burst into laughter of her own.

“What’s so funny?” asked Gabriel.

“It’s just...she plays a bimbo so well,” she laughed. “Too well.” He rolled his eyes at her.

You sipped your champagne when suddenly the door opened and a tall slender man with dark features came into the room and walked over to the table.

“Enzio,” said Vincenzo. “This is Angelica. Angelica, this is my good friend Enzio.” 

“Nice to meet you,” you said.

Enzio didn’t reply, he just stared at you, almost like he was cutting his eyes at you. He bent down and whispered something into Vincenzo’s ear. Vincenzo turned to him and they began to speak low so you couldn’t hear. Suddenly Vincenzo raised his voice some.

“I don’t care Enzio, just handle it,” Vincenzo pat Enzio’s cheek and Enzio stood up right then turned and left. 

Vincenzo looked at you and smiled.

“Business,” he said. 

“Like what?” you asked.

“A little of this, a little of that.”

Your meal came out, veal saltimbocca. It was delicious and you were well into finishing your plate when you looked up to see Vincenzo smiling at you.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just rare to watch a woman enjoy her meal the way you do.”

“Well you tend to date models, right? Enjoying a meal doesn’t exactly go with the territory.”

He chuckled a bit.

“No, I guess not.” 

“I guess it just makes me wonder what it is that interests you about me. I’m far from a model.” 

“I think that’s what intrigues me about you. Don’t mistake me, I think you’re very sexy and there’s a fieriness, a fearlessness about you that I find refreshing. I can tell you’re more than just a pretty face and I’m dying to know what lies beneath the surface.”

You smiled, “Maybe I’ll let you find out.” He smiled back. 

You both finished your meals and when the waiter came to take your plates, Vincenzo said something to him in italian. A minute or two later a single slice of cheesecake with cherries on top was brought out and placed in front of him. Vincenzo looked at you and held out his hand to you across the table. 

“Come,” he said.

You took his hand and stood from your seat walking over to him. He scooted his chair out some, and pulled you down onto his lap and you sat across his legs looking at him as he wrapped his arm around your back and gripped your waist. He looked at you as if he was searching your eyes, then he looked at the plate of cheesecake and reached forward grabbing the fork and cutting a bite off. He set the fork back down on the table, the piece he had cut off still on the plate. 

He grabbed it with his thumb and index finger, then brought it to just in front of your lips and you parted them, eyes remaining on each others, his hooded and filled with lust and temptation. You closed your mouth around the tips of his fingers and he smiled as he slowly pulled them out and you began to chew and swallow.

“Is it good my little rabbit?” You nodded. 

He reached forward and grabbed a sauce-drenched cherry bringing it to your lips, slowly running it over them, smearing the sticky sweet sauce before coming to a stop to push the cherry into your mouth with his index finger. You closed your lips around his finger and began to suck as he slowly pulled it from your mouth, making him smirk a bit as he did. 

He quickly reached forward scooping cherry sauce onto his index and middle fingers. He brought them to your mouth and you took them in, sucking on them, licking them clean of the sauce. You grabbed his hand to hold it still and began to suck his fingers in earnest, slowly bobbing your head back and forth. He tilted his head up and his lips parted as his hooded eyes fixated on your mouth. He pulled his fingers out one at a time and used his thumb to wipe at the corner of your lips. As he did, you turned your head and took his thumb into your mouth, closing your eyes as you hummed and sucked on it, feeling him inhale deeply and softly groan as you did before you returned your gaze to his.

Gabriel and Jessica could see all of this through your point of view and in the reflection of the mirrored walls. 

“Wow,” said Jessica “Is this what she was like on the first date?”

Gabriel was irritated by the scene and he started to bounce his knee. 

“No comment.” he said tersely. Jessica looked at him and smiled.

“I’ll take that as a yes. So you two slept together on the first date I take it? No wonder you ended up together, she moves fast.”

“Shut up Jessica, she’s not like that, plus we were already sleeping together by then.”

“So you slept together before you even got to the first date?” laughed Jessica.

“It wasn’t like- Other things happened in betwe- Why am I explaining this to you? Just shut up and watch the screen.”

“Fine, but maybe you should try not to have a full on heart attack before she gets out of there.”

You maintained eye contact with Vincenzo as you sucked on his thumb, once again bobbing your head and licking at it with your tongue. Eventually, he pulled his thumb from your mouth and reached his hand into your hair, grabbing the back of your head as he leaned up and pulled you down for a kiss. 

You placed your hand on his chest and you pecked each other's lips at first, breathing heavy against each other's mouths as you looked at one another then closed your eyes to go in for more. You put your hand on his cheek as you kissed deeply. 

Suddenly he was reaching out to the table, sweeping his hand across it, knocking the plates and wine glasses on it to the floor. He grabbed you under your arms and lifted you onto the table, breaking the kiss as he stood between your legs, then grabbed your waist, yanking you to himself as he started kissing your neck and down your chest, leaning into you, making you lay back on the table.

 _Oh shit_ you thought.

As he kissed you, he reached down to grab at the skirt of your dress, pulling it up and moving it out the way to expose your panties.

 _Oh shit!_

He sat up looking at you, one of his hands squeezing your breast over your dress as the other undid his pants.

_OH SHIT!!_

“Vincenzo,” you breathed.

His pants were now undone and he was reaching in to take himself in hand.

“Wait,” you said a little louder as he started to lean into you, his other hand now reaching for your panties, getting ready to pull them to the side. “Stop!” you shouted.

He ceased all movement and looked at you slightly confused.

“Stop? What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t want this.” you said quickly.

His expression became even more confused.

“You don’t?” You shook your head.

“I don’t.” 

He looked dumbfounded.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He blinked a few times then reached his hand out to you. You took it and he pulled you up so you were now sitting on the table. He still had a look of bafflement on his face while he backed up and zipped himself up. You slid off the table and stood in front of him. He looked down as if in deep thought.

“Are you ok?” you asked. He looked up at you.

“I just...no woman has ever told me no before...I...you sure you don’t want to...?”

You shook your head.

He looked at you, then sighed, taking your hand. He kissed it.

"Good night,” he said briskly, before he turned to leave, stepping around the broken dishes on the ground as he did. 

You stood there and took a deep breath, then made sure your dress was straight and left the private room. When you came to the front the hostess called out to you.

“Miss?”

You turned around.

“Mr. Bacchelli asked me to arrange a ride home for you. You can wait in the bar. It's on its way.”

You nodded and made your way over to the bar area taking a seat at an empty table. Suddenly your phone chimed it was a text from Gabriel.

G: Meet here in 45 minutes.

GPS coordinates were attached and you tapped them, bringing up the map on your phone. You studied the route from the apartment then deleted the text and the coordinates.


	13. Coming to a Head

When you got back to the apartment after your date with Vincenzo, you changed into jogging clothes and removed the lens camera from your eye then left out again pretending to be going on a leisurely jog. You felt like you were being followed and after a few minutes you realized you were. You started to pick up the pace and soon you were full out running, the men following you some yards or so behind. 

You ducked into an alley behind a restaurant and reached for the knob to the kitchen door, swinging it open wide, then you ducked behind a dumpster. By the time the men got in the alley the door was just closing and, as you hoped, they made the assumption you had gone into the restaurant. They hurried inside. When the door closed behind them you came out from behind the dumpster and continued on your way to the meeting spot.

The spot Gabriel had picked was by the river under a bridge, it was quiet, dark, and out of the way and a good half-way point between the safehouse and the apartment. When you got there, you could see Gabriel pacing agitatedly and you started to brace yourself, preparing to be chewed out.

“You're late,” he said tersely when he saw you.

“I had a tail I had to get rid of.” 

He went silent for a moment. He was impressed you still remembered how to do that and were using the skill outside of a training setting. It had been a while since he and Tony had taught you. But there were more pressing issues at hand so he pushed his feelings of admiration to the side.

“Once again, I have to ask, what the fuck are you doing?” he asked bruskly. 

“What do you mean? I did what you told me to do.”

“I told you to knock his socks off, look pretty for him, maybe flirt a little bit, not pretend to suck his dick in the middle of the restaurant.”

You scrunched your face. 

“That’s not what I was doing.”

“Really? Cause that’s what the fuck it looked like.” 

He raised his hand like he was about to grab you, but clenched it shut instead. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. You could see the anger coursing through him and you could see he was struggling to control it.

“God damn it Y/N. Under no circumstances are you to fuck Vincenzo Bacchelli. I can’t believe I even have to say that.”

“You don’t!” you retorted angrily. 

“Apparently, I do, because you seem to never know where the fucking line is.”

That hurt. You were both supposed to be past all of that, clean slates, but apparently Gabriel wasn't. 

“Fuck you, Gabriel.” you turned from him, starting to walk away and he grabbed your arm turning you around to face him.

“Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.”

You looked at his hand on your arm in surprise, then looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“You're not to fuck Vincenzo, you're not to suck him off, you’re not to touch his dick, and you're not to let him touch you. That means his hands, nor his mouth; because I know how much you like that too; are to come anywhere near your pussy. Does that make the line clear enough for you?” You looked at him silently with anger in your eyes and he scrunched his face in disgust at you. “Look at you, always so desperate to be someone else's whore,” he sneered.

“Get the fuck off me Gabriel!,” you shouted wrenching your arm out of his grasp.

Suddenly, your phone chimed. You took it out your pocket and read the text that was sent.

“Vincenzo’s gonna stop by the apartment tomorrow. Are we done here?” you asked briskly.

“Go,” he said. 

You turned to leave but immediately turned back. 

"You call me all the way out here, put my cover at risk, and for what? So you can fly into a jealous rage and tell me how much of a whore you think I am? Where the fuck do you get off speaking to me that way?" 

You paused and Gabriel was opening his mouth to speak but you swiftly held up your hand to silence him and continued. 

"And oh how you love to throw that word around. Oh how you love to shame me for how much of myself I give to you. I'm out here risking my fucking life for you. Entertaining the attentions of a literal murderer so that you can get the revenge you swear you need. All while you continuously go out of your way to prove how fucking undeserving you are."

You took a deep breath and went on. 

"Up until now, I've been risking myself by choice, but this shit you did tonight, selfishly taking chances with my life for trivial bullshit? Don't you ever put me at risk like this again!" 

You looked at him, the level of hurt and anger you felt reaching its max and you quickly turned and walked away before he could see the first set of tears fall from your eyes. 

Gabriel walked to the van parked around the corner from the bridge. Jesse, Genji, and Jessica were all waiting for him and when he got in the back they all looked at him, displeasure on their faces. 

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” he asked.

“Just never heard you talk to Y/N that way,” said Jesse, disappointment in his voice. “Didn’t think it was possible for you to look at her and even think things like that, let alone say ‘em.”

Gabriel realized you still had the necklace on and they were able to hear everything back in the van.

“We asked her to seduce Vincenzo. She did exactly what we asked and you made her wrong for it. She didn’t deserve that,” said Genji.

“Yeah, that was really harsh,” said Jessica, “Especially, considering that she put herself at risk and came through for us. Everything she did worked. Vincenzo wants to see her again, so tonight was one to put in the win column. We all kind of needed a win after...," she paused, "...everything, but because of how you spoke to her, there’s nothing for anybody to feel good about.”

Gabriel sighed. 

“I don’t need to hear this from any of you.” 

“Well you need to hear it from somebody. You’ve been an asshole to everybody lately, even more than you usually are and frankly I’m sick of walking on eggshells around you, waiting for you to fly off the handle about some small shit that never would have bothered you before,” said Jessica.

“Well you want to know what I'm sick of?! I’m sick of everyone questioning me and doing everything but what fuck they've been told to do and I'm sick of people bringing me more problems than solutions. If Tony was here-

"But he's not!! and unfortunately for you, you're stuck with us!" Jessica screamed. 

Gabriel looked at Jessica, surprised and she sighed. 

"Look, we all get that you're torn up about Tony. We are too. It's no secret Tony was your favorite, but none of us are interested in taking his place, so stop expecting us to compete with his fucking ghost. That's just setting us all up to fail. We all have a job to do, and like or not this is the team you have, so man the fuck up and get on with it."

Gabriel looked at Jessica then at Genji and Jesse their heads down as they nodded in agreement. 

"We may not worship the ground you walk on like Tony did, but you're our Commander too and we fucking need you, regardless of how sorry you feel for yourself, we need you! Tony is gone and if you actually want to succeed at avenging him then suck that shit up and act like the fucking leader you keep bitching to us that you are!"

Gabriel looked at her blinking for a minute or two.

"You know, as your Commander, you really shouldn't talk to me that way."

"Well, you really shouldn't be such a pain in the ass, but here we all are," she retorted.

It went silent again for a while as they all sat there. 

“You owe Y/N an apology,” said Genji. 

Gabriel inhaled deeply and blew it out. 

“I know.”

“You kinda owe us an apology too,” said Jesse.

Gabriel sighed as he looked at everyone, tugging his beanie off his head, looking down before he spoke. 

“I...I haven’t been myself since Tony died. I haven’t taken it well and I know that’s not a valid excuse, but….I know I’ve been pretty ineffective as a leader lately and if I lashed out at any of you....I’m sorry.”

It went silent as his apology lingered.

“Aww Reyes, we’re here for you. You're not in this alone,” said Jesse.

“Yeah,” said Genji and Jessica in unison.

Gabriel nodded, a small smile coming to his face.

“Awww group hug you guys!” said Jessica getting swept up in the moment.

“UGH!!” exclaimed the three men.

“Why do you have to make everything weird?” said Genji.

“Yeah Jessica,” Jesse said in disgust. 

“Drive us back to the safehouse McCree before she breaks out in song.” said Gabriel.

Jesse turned forward and stared up the van.

“Well if it's a song you want, _Theeeee sun will come out-_ ” Jessica started to sing. 

“NO!!!” shouted the three men.

Later that night, Gabriel sat in the van, with his holopad, checking on other Blackwatch operations, sending emails, and taking care of other housekeeping type things. At the same time, he kept an eye on you in the apartment. At the moment you were sitting on the couch, drinking from a bottle of cheap wine. He watched you finish the bottle and leave it on the coffee table as you got up and turned off all the lights, which automatically put the cameras into night vision mode. You climbed into bed and laid there for a while, then he heard what sounded like sobs and he instantly felt shitty. He sighed as he set his holopad down and reached for his phone and began to type.

G: Baby I’m sorr-

He stopped and deleted it. Texting an apology was cowardly. He decided to call. He could hear the phone vibrate on the nightstand and he saw you reach for it. The call ended on his end. You had rejected it.

“Leave me alone Gabriel.” you said, pulling the covers over your head.

He sighed and put his phone down.

The next day you got up and showered, then set about cleaning up around the apartment. You didn’t know when Vincenzo was going to show, he didn’t say, but for some reason, you were looking forward to him dropping by and you weren't exactly sure why. You were currently dressed in a pair of sport shorts and a t-shirt. Loungewear. You didn’t want to look like you were phased by his visit. The goal was to keep things casual.

Around noon, you heard a knock at your door and you did your best to keep the smile off your face as you went to answer it. You opened it and sure enough, there was Vincenzo, dressed casually in dark blue jeans and a black lightweight sweater that did nothing to hide his muscles. His hair was down today. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked feigning like you had forgotten he was coming.

“I said I would drop by, remember?” 

“Was that today? Must have slipped my mind. Come in.” Vincenzo came in, looking around as you closed the door behind him. “Have a seat,” you said.

You expected him to take a seat on the couch, instead he made a b-line for the bedroom, going to one side of the bed and sitting down, before he called out to you.

“Come here Angelica.” 

You took a deep breath and went into the bedroom, climbing up on the bed at the foot of it and crawling to where Vincenzo sat. You laid down on your back next to him. Head on the pillows knees bent and looked at him. 

“When I told you to have a seat this wasn’t where I meant.” He smiled a bit.

“Next time, be specific.” You huffed a laugh.

“Like that would have stopped you. So what brings you by today?” 

“Well. ..” he leaned forward and laid down next to you on his side, propping his head up with his hand. His other hand grabbed the hem of your t-shirt and he ran his thumb along the top of it, his other fingers underneath gently brushing against your stomach as he did, causing tingles and shivers up your spine. “After you utterly rejected me last night-”

“Did I utterly reject you? I think that’s a mischaracterization,” you said with a smile.

“No, I think that's accurate. I felt utterly rejected.”

“Utterly though? That’s a bit extreme.” He huffed a laugh.

“It was an extreme situation for me. A beautiful woman I’ve set my sights on doesn’t want to sleep with me? It defies logic.” 

“Does it?” 

“It does. Anyways. I started to think, maybe I haven’t charmed you enough.”

“So that’s why you're here, to charm me?” 

“I’m here to take you out, to spend the day with me.” 

“Doing what?”

He moved his hand from your shirt to your cheek, then lowered his lips to yours in a chaste kiss.

“That’s a surprise,” he said against your mouth.

You leaned in and returned his kiss, which you could tell surprised him a little, but ultimately made him smile.

“What if I don’t like surprises?” you said low

“Trust me la mia stella, you’ll enjoy this one,” he whispered, before he pressed his lips to yours again, this time in a deeper kiss. His tongue licked along your lips, demanding entry into your mouth, and you parted them for him and intertwined your tongue with his as you placed your hand in his hair, which felt soft and luxurious in your palm. 

His kiss was passionate and wonton as he took the lead and you could tell he wanted so much more from you than this and that knowledge stirred you a bit. Eventually, you both came up for air and he smiled at you. “Let's get ready to go,” he said and you nodded.

You changed into a pair of jeans and grabbed your purse and followed him downstairs to his car. It was a luxury convertible and the top was already down. When you both were strapped in, he peeled off from in front of your apartment and began to speed down the road. 

You were acutely aware that he was going way too fast. He made a right turn, not bothering to slow down, whipping the car and both of you around the corner and you looked at him. He had a smirk on his face like he wasn’t phased. He drove straight and you felt the car start to speed up even more. There was an intersection coming up and the traffic light turned red, but he made no effort to slow down. 

_Oh my God. He’s gonna kill us!_ you thought.

Cars were just starting to cross into the intersection as he blew through the light narrowly missing being t-boned.

“WHOOO!” he exclaimed, laughing as he got to the other side. He looked at you and you looked at him and the near-crazed look in his eyes jarred you, but there was something about the way he smiled at you that caught your attention. 

Something about it made you realize that this was a test. He was deliberately trying to scare you. Then you remembered what he said about your fearlessness being intriguing to him and you realized he was trying to see how far he could push you. At that moment, you knew the last thing you could do was show fear right now, despite how much he was terrifying the shit out of you. 

You resolved to trust that no matter what he did, you would come out on the other end of this unscathed and you leaned into that thought in your mind. So when he whipped around another corner, speeding like a bat out of hell, you pushed the terror to the side and focused on the exhilaration of it and you began to laugh, almost hysterically.

He looked at you, a surprised grin on his face before he sped through another intersection, cars honking and abruptly turning, some spinning out, to miss hitting the car. You threw your hands into the air. 

“WHOOO!" you screamed in excitement, continuing to laugh. Your enjoyment seemed to amuse him and he kept speeding and driving recklessly until the car came to an abrupt stop as he parked. 

In your mind, you were thanking every deity in existence that the ride was now over and when he got out to come around to open your door you took deep breaths, trying to keep down the bile that threatened to rise up from your stomach. 

_Don't throw up Y/N. Don't throw up. Whatever you do, don't throw up._


	14. Walk Walk Fashion Baby

Vincenzo had driven you to a shopping district in Milan known for high end and luxury goods. To your immediate right was a long strip of storefronts for designer brands. 

Somehow you managed to keep yourself from hurling in Vincenzo’s car and you smiled when he opened your door and held out his hand to you. You put yours in his, letting him pull you up from the seat. 

You wrapped your arm around his as he led you to one of the stores. A clothing store. You noticed that people were being held back from coming in as you entered and you found that strange until you looked around inside and realized you and Vincenzo were the only patrons inside. 

The store was brightly lit, and its tile floors shined. There was a large monitor mounted on one of the walls showing a runway show the brand was featured in on a loop and you noticed that a few of the looks being modeled were currently being worn by mannequins around the store. The clothing was arranged monochromatically on the racks and there was a small seating area that split the store between women’s and menswear. Sales associates were lined up down the middle, standing at the ready to fulfill whatever request was thrown at them. but Vincenzo walked past them as if they weren’t there and led you to the women’s clothing side.

He started looking at a rack of short sleeve bandage dresses and he dislodged his arm from yours as he pulled one out and held it up to you. He squinted his eyes a bit then put the dress back on the rack.

“Too big,” he said, grabbing the same dress in another size, then moved onto another rack, this time full of blouses, and repeated the process. Before he moved on to the next rack he snapped his fingers in the direction of the sales associates and one of them came over. 

“Yes Mr. Bacchelli?” she asked.

He handed her the clothes in his hands.

“Start a room.” 

“Right away sir,” she took the clothes and walked away toward the dressing rooms.

The whole time this went on you watched quietly, not really processing what was going on until it hit you.

“Are you picking out these clothes for me?” you asked.

“I want you to try them on for me, like a bit of a fashion show,” he said not looking at you as he rifled through another rack

“You want me to model. I thought we established I wasn’t one.” he smiled.

“Maybe not professionally, but you can still put on a private show for me. Plus, I’m curious to see the different sides each look draws out of you.” 

“Mmm I don’t know.” 

He turned, grabbing your chin, pressing a kiss to your lips.

“Do this for me, Angelica. I promise it’ll be fun.”

You took a deep breath.

“If you say so.”

Soon Vincenzo had picked out several items around the store and you were making your way back to the dressing room area to try them on. There was a couch outside the dressing rooms and Vincenzo took a seat as you went into a room to change into your first look. The bandage dress. When you put it on it fit perfectly, which surprised you. Vincenzo had a good eye. But it was a lot shorter than you thought it would be and when you came out you were trying to pull it down. 

Vincenzo chuckled.

“Stop messing with it Angelica. Stand up straight for me.” 

You balled your hands at your side and stood there facing him. There were mirrors outside the dressing room so you were able to see yourself at different angles. The dress itself was beautiful. A pretty shade of dark red, but it fit tight and you felt exposed despite being covered up, which made you tense as you stood there. Vincenzo got up and came over to you taking a sip from a glass of rose` in a champagne flute he was holding. 

“Why are you so stiff?” 

He wrapped his arm around your waist pulling you to him, palming your ass that was barely covered by the dress. He touched the lip of his champagne flute to yours. 

“Drink,” he said as he tipped the glass, the cool blush pink liquid touching your lips before you parted them and let the sweet wine into your mouth. He kept his eyes on yours as you drank from his glass. He tilted it back up and pecked your mouth. “Relax la mia stella.” He released you then took your hand, “Spin around for me.” You did a slow turn as he held your arm up, “Beautiful,” he said, awe in his voice. It made your cheeks heat. “Now go try something else.” 

As you turned around to go back in the room he smacked your ass and you yelped making him laugh. 

You tried on one look after the other for him, feeling more relaxed after each wardrobe change. Soon you were doing spins, striking dramatic poses, and strutting across the dressing room, much to Vincenzo’s amusement. After a while, you realized you actually were having fun, which was a welcomed change after weeks of feeling sad and down. It just felt good to do something extremely frivolous and mindless like this where you could just be silly in the moment. 

After you tried on the last look you put your own clothes back on and came out the dressing room. Vincenzo was on the couch and he held his hand out to you to come sit by him. When you sat he put his arm around your shoulders holding you to him. 

“So, what do you think about these clothes?” he asked.

“They’re beautiful. Nothing I’d pick for myself though, they’re so expensive.” 

“Hmm that’s a shame. A beautiful woman like you should have beautiful things,” you smiled. “Let’s do something about that.” You looked at him, taken aback. 

“Huh?”

Vincenzo snapped at a nearby sales associate. 

“Yes Mr. Bacchelli?”

“Everything she tried on, put it on my account.” Your eyes went wide.

“Vincenzo!”

“I’ll give you the address for where to send them,” he continued.

“Vincenzo no, it's too much.” He shook his head.

“I decide what is too much. As a matter of fact,” he stood pulling you up, “We’re not done, come.” 

He took your hand and led you out the store and walked down the strip to another one, a designer shoe store. Once again, patrons were being kept from entering and as you looked down the strip you realized that was the case for every store. Vincenzo had essentially shut every store on the street down so that you and he could shop alone. 

“Pick everything you like.” he said upon entering the store. 

You stood there, speechless, looking around like a deer in the headlights, or was it a kid in a candy store. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Jessica had been at the safehouse, watching everything from the moment Vincenzo stepped foot in the apartment. Gabriel was immediately irritated by Vincenzo entering your bedroom and he wanted to snap his neck when he laid down next to you in your bed and that kiss, how into it you were, only made his irritation rise. 

But he immediately went from irritated to panicked when you got into Vincenzo's car. His heart was in his throat the whole time he watched Vincenzo blow through red lights and he thought you had gone mad when he heard you laughing excitedly like you were enjoying it. He was so stressed out by the time Vincenzo parked, he had to get up and walk away from the monitors so he could slow his breathing. He paced a bit until he was calm then went to sit back down. When he looked at the monitors you were taking your clothes off. 

"What's she doing?" Gabriel asked Jessica. 

"They're in a store. He wants her to try stuff on." 

"Hmm."

He sat and watched you try on clothes, getting sillier by the minute and he wanted to be upset by the way Vincenzo's eyes raked over your body but your enjoyment amused him and tugged at his heart. The sound of your laughter was like music to his ears and he adored the smile on your face reflected back in the mirror. It warmed him to see you smile that way and he only wished he had been the cause because lately he had been responsible for so many frowns and tears. 

He couldn't help the jealousy he felt as he watched Vincenzo spoil you with expensive things. He could only dream to adorn you in all the finery your heart desired and foot the bill like it was inconsequential. Yet, something about it was pleasing in a way. He always felt you should be treated like royalty and maybe it wasn't him doing it, but you deserved it regardless. So he stuffed his jealousy and grit his teeth through his irritation at the intimate kisses and touches you and Vincenzo shared, if it meant you got to be a princess for the day. 

At this point, you and Vincenzo had been in several stores buying more clothes and accessories to go with them and now, you were walking out of a store with his and her designer sunglasses on, arms wrapped around each other's backs as he took you to the next store he wanted to visit. A boutique full of women's undergarments and lingerie. As soon as you both walked in, you immediately turned around to walk out. 

"I think we're done for today," you said. 

Vincenzo stopped you with an arm around your waist. 

"Don't be shy little rabbit. We'll just look and if we see anything we like you'll try it on." You looked at him. 

"We?" 

"We,” he said.

You looked at him for a second then turned into him laying your head against his chest, your arm around his back as he held you to him. 

"Lead the way," you said. 

He kissed your forehead as you began to walk together through the store. Eventually, you both started to pick things out and a small collection of items had amassed for you to try on. 

When you got in the dressing room you undressed slowly facing away from the mirror, then took your time putting on the black lace lingerie ensemble he had picked out, complete with bra, matching panties, a garter belt, and thigh highs to attach the garter belt straps to. Once everything was on, you turned around and looked at yourself in the mirror for a bit, psyching yourself up to leave the room.

Back at the safehouse, Gabriel and Jessica were still watching. Gabriel doing his best to tamp down his annoyance at Vincenzo's obvious ploy to see you strut around in a bra and panties. 

"Genji, bring me one of those waters," called Gabriel. 

Genji stood and went to the case of bottled waters on the floor and grabbed one. He brought it over to Gabriel and held it out to him, then froze. 

"Thanks," said Gabriel, grabbing the bottle, but Genji wouldn't let it go. "I said thanks," said Gabriel trying to pull the bottle from his hand again. 

Gabriel looked up to see Genji fixated on the monitors, watching you look at yourself in your lingerie ensemble. 

"Don't look at her like that damn it!" shouted Gabriel. 

"Huh?" said Genji, breaking his fixation, snapping his attention to Gabriel. 

"Stop ogling Y/N in her underwear you pervert," said Gabriel, snatching the water out of Genji's hand. 

"What? I...I wasn't!" 

Jessica giggled. 

Jesse came over and put his arm around Genji's shoulders turning him from the monitors, slowly leading him away. 

"It's ok Genji. We've all ogled Y/N at one time or another, it's hard not to," said Jesse. 

"I've never ogled Y/N and I've seen her topless," said Jessica. 

That stopped Jesse in his tracks and he turned around to look at Jessica, squinting at her. 

"How did you…? Nevermind, we'll talk later."

He turned back to Genji and continued walking. 

"You shoulda seen her shakin' it in her samba costume. Lucky for you, I got pictures."

"Delete those McCree or so help me God…" said Gabriel, not turning around. 

"Don't worry Reyes, I'll delete 'em," Jesse lowered his voice so only Genji could hear, "But not before I send ‘em to you first." 

You slowly came out of the dressing room in your lingerie ensemble and as you stood in front of Vincenzo a slow smile spread across his face. 

"Angelica, you're gorgeous."

You averted his heated gaze as your own cheeks heated. 

He came over to you and turned you by your shoulders so you both faced a mirror. 

"You are the definition of erotic." he said low, kissing your shoulder as his hands gently ran down your arms. "Sexy in every way imaginable." 

He kissed a trail from your shoulder to your neck, snaking his fingers into your hair and closing them, gripping your locks as he used them to pull your head back, making you gasp. He then proceeded to kiss from your chin, down your neck, tickling your skin, making you shudder. He felt it and it made him smile as he released the grip on your hair. 

"Vincenzo," came a voice from behind you both. 

Vincenzo turned his head, it was Enzio. He turned back and kissed your cheek. 

"Go put something else on for me," he whispered to you. 

You nodded and went into the dressing room. You changed into a light pink sheer babydoll nightie and panty set that luckily had padding in the breast area and a red silk kimono with an ornate golden dragon on it that spanned the back and sleeves. You wrapped it around you and came out the room, but instead of Vincenzo sitting outside to greet you, it was Enzio. Vincenzo was over by the entrance of the boutique on the phone. 

"Hi," you said timidly. He silently stared at you.

You turned to the mirrors in the dressing area getting a better look at the robe you had on. 

"Angelica Roman, is it?," said Enzio, his deep voice startling you as you looked at him in the mirror. 

"Yes," you answered. 

"I looked you up and there's something about the information I found on you that seems….manufactured."

A tinge of panic hit your stomach but you kept your expression light. 

"How could it be manufactured when I'm standing right here in front of you in the flesh," you said. 

"I don't know, but there's something about you I don't trust."

You smiled, and went back to looking at the robe in the mirror turning to the side to see the back as you spoke. 

"Well lucky for me, it's not your trust I'm concerned with."

"You should be concerned with it. Vincenzo listens to me. If I tell him I don't think you're being truthful, the next anyone will see of you is when they discover your parts in a landfill ." 

You laughed as you continued to look at the robe in the mirror, your expression amused. You realized it was him who had had you followed the night before. 

"I wonder how Vincenzo would feel about you threatening his pretty little rabbit. Something tells me he'd see it as you overstepping which is probably why you waited for him to leave to do it.” You turned around to look at him, ”What if I just burst into tears right now because big bad Enzio is frightening me? What would his reaction be, I wonder?” Your facial expression immediately became distressed. “Excuse me ma’am? Can you help me?” you said your voice sounding shaky and upset like you were on the verge of tears. 

Enzio turned around nervously, realizing no one was there. He looked in Vincenzo’s direction to check if he had seen your performance and then turned back to you, your expression natural now, “Who do you think will be discovered in a landfill then?" you said in a steely tone.

Enzio looked at you and you noticed the sheen of sweat starting to form on his forehead. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat

"You're hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is," he said. You smiled.

"The only thing I'm hiding is what color panties I have on under this robe, and I see Vincenzo is done with his call. Be a dear and send him over here would you," you snapped your fingers at him, the smile dropping from your face, "Chop chop."

Enzio stared at you as he got up and left the dressing room area. You took a deep breath and turned back to the mirror. 

"He's going to be a problem," you said to your reflection for the benefit of the camera. 

You went into the dressing room and took off the robe. A few seconds later Vincenzo came in and closed the door behind himself. You turned to him and he looked at you for a moment then he quickly grabbed your face tilting your head up to press his lips to yours in a deep kiss. He started walking you backwards until you hit one of the walls and your kiss became vigorous and urgent as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

Suddenly he was grabbing your thighs, lifting you as you wrapped your legs around him. He turned with you, making his way to the built-in bench in the dressing room and sat down with you on top of him straddling his lap while he gripped your ass and caressed your back under the babydoll. Both of you hummed as you kissed, your hands in his hair. Then his hand was between you both reaching into your panties and you jumped up getting off him, both of you breathing hard.

He looked at you giving a frustrated sigh. He grabbed your hand pulling you to him.

"Angelica, must you keep rejecting me? Surely after today I've charmed you enough?"

"I barely know you Vincenzo."

He stood grabbing your face in both hands, looking into your eyes. 

"What is there to know? I'm rich, I'm handsome and I'm captivated by you."

You smiled and he pecked your lips. 

"And so humble," you teased. "All you've told me is what you've got and what you want. I'm gonna need a little more than that, I'm afraid," you said. 

He sighed deeply letting you go. 

"I think you're purposely trying to drive me crazy."

"I think you're too used to women making it easy for you."

"Just…promise me this. That lingerie you had on before. When you're ready to give yourself to me, wear that." You nodded, "All this shopping has made me hungry and since you won't let me devour you, I'll have to eat something else instead. Get dressed, let's go."

You got dressed and Vincenzo held your hand as you made your way back to his car. When you got in, he reached in the back and pulled out a large white box and set it in your lap. 

"I probably should have given this to you first, maybe you would've been more amenable in the dressing room," he said. 

You looked at the box and embossed across it in gold lettering was the word, "DRACON". Your heart started pounding and you looked at him. 

"Open it."

You lifted the top of the box off and he took it from you. Inside was neat red tissue paper stuck together with a gold and black sticker with a "D" in the middle. You pulled the tissue paper back and you gasped. 

Inside the tissue paper was a beautiful red leather handbag with shining gold hardware.

"Oh my God," you whispered. 

"Do you know what that is?" he asked. 

You nodded. 

"This bag is tens of thousands of dollars of handmade leather perfection. There's a five year wait list for it," you looked at him, "How….?"

He smiled. 

"La mia stella, I'm Vincenzo Bacchelli. If I want something, I get it and I wanted you to have this."

Your eyes went wide. 

"I can have this?" you said almost breathlessly. 

"It's yours."

"Holy shit!"

He laughed.


	15. Complexity

For dinner Vincenzo took you both to an expensive japanese restaurant for sushi. Of course, upon arrival, the restaurant did everything they could to accommodate him without him having to ask, including removing two people from the sushi bar so that you could have their seats. He took note of the way you nervously looked around as you took your seat next to him at the corner of the bar. 

“You like sushi?” he asked.

“I love sushi, I’ve just never sat at the bar before. It's a little intimidating.” He smiled.

“What’s intimidating about it?”

“I know there's proper etiquette or whatever to eat sushi. I just worry about doing it wrong, embarrassing myself. So I usually take my sushi to-go so I can eat like a savage in the privacy of my own home.” he laughed. 

“Would you like me to show you?” 

You nodded.

A waitress came up and Vincenzo ordered sake and miso soup for the both of you, leaving the sushi up to the chef’s recommendation. Then he turned back to you.

“I love to sit at the bar, you get to watch the itamae at work.” He scooted his chair close to yours and leaned close to you, putting his gaze on the hands of the chef who was currently working on an order. “Do you know how long it takes to become an itamae?” he said low. You shook your head. “Anywhere from ten years and up.” He pointed, leaning in closer, his head against yours as he put his other arm over your chair, he was warm against you and smelled of cologne. Your eyes followed where he pointed, “Look at the way he wields his hocho. It looks simple, but sushi making is a craft that requires a lot of hard work and precision. Learning how to prepare the rice perfectly, how to prepare all the ingredients used to make the sushi, how to slice the fish, it’s not something to take lightly,” you looked at him noting the reverence in his voice and the awe in his eyes as he watched. “The etiquette is about eating the sushi in a way that is most respectful of the itamae’s time and effort and of the ingredients he’s chosen.”

“Why do you know so much about it?” you asked low.

He looked at you and ran the back of his finger slowly down the side of your face.

“I guess I have an affinity for cooks and chefs of all foods. I respect what they do, I respect their craft, mainly because they remind me of my mother.” He grabbed your chin, turning you to him, stroking it with his thumb, his eyes looking distant, like he was conjuring up memories.

“Your mother is a chef?”

“No, she wasn’t, at least not professionally….She died, the day after I turned 13.”

“Oh Vincenzo, I’m sorry.” He shook his head. He let your chin go and faced forward, intertwining his fingers on the bar as he continued to watch the itamae work.

“Some of my happiest memories as a boy was sitting in her kitchen watching her prepare a meal. Cooking was her passion and I loved to watch the joy on her face as she turned the simplest of ingredients into masterpieces. Everything I ever ate as a boy, she made. We never had these processed foods or frozen meals in the house. She made everything from scratch, even condiments.” He had an almost boyish fondness in his tone as he spoke of his mother and it made you smile a bit. “She taught me a love and respect for food as a boy and that turned into a love and respect for cooks and chefs as a man. When I get the opportunity to interact with the people who make my meal and I see their passion for their craft, it's like being back in my mother's kitchen watching her eyes light up as she cooked.”

“That….that's beautiful Vincenzo.” He turned to you and gave you a small smile as he took your hand and intertwined your fingers.

He had surprised you and you realized it as you watched him pour you sake then hand the bottle to you so you could pour him some as was customary. When you looked at him, you realized you just saw a man, a very attractive man, a rich man, but just a man nonetheless and it jarred you when you had to remind yourself that this man was also a killer and a human trafficker. You had forgotten that fact as you spent the day with him, being silly with him as you modeled clothes, letting him spoil you in a way that you had never been spoiled before, listening to his compliments and feeling his gentle touches and kisses.

Before coming to Italy, preparing for this mission, everyone had framed Vincenzo as this vicious monster who had savagely murdered Tony. That was the only thing you had to go by and that’s what you expected to encounter. But spending this short amount of time with him, you hadn’t seen it, this monstrous side of him. You didn’t doubt it was there, but you realized he had other sides too, that he wasn’t _just_ a monster. He was complex like many of the men currently in your life.

When you finished your meal Vincenzo took you back to your apartment and walked you inside to your door. He turned to you and grabbed your face in both hands tilting it up to him while he smiled at you. You grabbed his wrists.

“Did you have fun today Angelica?” he asked.

“I did, surprisingly.” 

“Did I charm you?” you giggled.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to spend a bunch of money on me to do that.” he smiled and kissed your nose.

“I wanted to.” 

Suddenly a delivery man came down the hall with a dolly full of boxes. 

“Is this the apartment of Angelica Roman?” he asked.  
Vincenzo held onto your face as he turned around a little to see the delivery man.

“Yes, thats me,” you called. Vincenzo turned back to you.

“That’ll be all the things we bought.” He kissed you sweetly and slowly before pulling back to look at you. “I have to go. I’ll call you.” You nodded and he pecked your lips once more then let you go and turned to walk down the hall.

“Be careful with her things,” he said to the delivery man as he passed.

“In here,” you said to the man.

He proceeded to bring in boxes upon boxes of things, making three trips outside to get more boxes and come back to the apartment. When he left you looked around at your living room full of boxes and made a b-line for the Dracon bag you had set on the coffee table. You delicately took it out the box and held it up by its handles.

"Look at you, you beautiful thing." you said turning it side to side. You pulled out the dust bag that came with it and gingerly put it inside. "I'll never get you dirty sweetie, I promise."

Suddenly your phone rang. You stood and pulled it out your back pocket. It was Gabriel. You thought about whether you wanted to answer. You and Vincenzo had been pretty hands on today and you really didn’t feel like getting chewed out for it. You took a deep breath and answered the call. He’d probably keep calling until you did.

“Yes?” 

“Hey” he said. 

“Hey,” you replied. 

It was silent for a moment.

“You looked like you had fun today.” 

“I did, actually.” 

“You looked beautiful in everything you tried on.”

You weren’t expecting him to say something like that and you sat silent in your surprise. You heard Gabriel sigh.

“Y/N, I’m sorry. I was wrong. How I spoke to you was wrong.”

“Yeah, it was. You know I’m beginning to think that’s what you actually think of me. You call me a whore without hesitation or reservation, like it's always sitting on the tip of your tongue, just waiting for the right moment for you to spit it out at me.”

“It’s not-” you continued, speaking over him.

“How do you think that makes me feel? To have someone I’m more sexually open with than I’ve ever been with anyone, look me in my face and call me a whore. How am I ever supposed to be comfortable opening myself up to you that way again? How do I know you won’t turn around and judge me and shame me for it like you’ve already done?"

There was silence. You sighed.

“Thank you for your apology, but...It’s not good enough this time Gabriel.”

He sighed.

“I understand.”

Silence. 

“Is there anything mission related you wanted to talk about?” you asked.

“Just...if he calls you…when he calls you, make sure to report back.”

“You mean, if,” you said.

“No, Y/N, when. I see the way he looks at you. I used to look at you that way when you first came to Overwatch and we were just getting to know each other. He’s falling for you, little by little. He might not realize it yet, but eventually being near you will become an obsession. He’ll start making up dumb excuses just to stand next you, breath the same air as you. Take you out for ice cream in the middle of the day, ask you for one-on one stretching classes, strike up conversations with you after combat training about the stupidest topics just to keep you there a little while longer.”

You smiled.

“I always wondered if you ever thought “why is this man talking to me about all this crazy stuff?””  
You giggled. “After we’d speak, I’d go home, sit up at night and over-analyze our entire conversation, beat myself up about my tone or how I phrased something. Ugh, those first months were misery. But you kept talking to me and eventually I realized, I could talk to you about paint drying and it wouldn’t matter because you actually enjoyed talking to me.”

“I did....I do. Gabriel, you were a friend to me before we became anything else. I think in all of this, I just really miss my friend.”

“I miss you too baby.”

You both went silent again.

“When I heard you laugh today I just- I suddenly realized it's been so long since I’ve heard you genuinely laugh.” He paused. “I haven’t been there for you. I’ve been so caught up in my own shit, it never occurred to me that maybe you were struggling too. I’m glad you had fun today… I know you needed it.

You took a deep breath. 

“It's been hard,” you said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

Silence.

“Hey, I need to get all this stuff put away. I’ll call you after I hear from Vincenzo.” you said.

“Ok. Hey?”

“Yeah?”

“You do know that bag is an inanimate object right?” 

You laughed. 

“You have to talk to it Gabriel, be sweet to it, like a plant. It’s good for the leather.” He huffed a laugh. 

“If you say so. Good night Y/N.”

“Good night.”

You went about putting all your new clothes and shoes and accessories away, then got dressed for bed and laid down. It was well after midnight when your phone rang again. You rolled over and answered.

“Hello,” you breathed.

“Are you sleep la mia stella?” came Vincenzo’s smooth voice through the phone. You smiled.

“I was.”

“Were you dreaming about me?” you giggled.

“Getting there I think. What are you doing up so late?” 

“Haven’t you heard that saying? No rest for the wicked.” You giggled again. “I’m on a jet right now.”

“Your jet?”

“One of them. Listen Angelica. I'll be out of town for a couple days, but when I get back, I want you to come stay with me for a few days at my villa in Milan.”

“Stay with you?”

“You’ll have your own room and I promise to be a perfect gentleman, no matter how irresistible I find you.”

“Mmmm, I'll have to think about it.” 

"You're really not going to make this easy for me at all, are you Angelica?" he laughed. "Take a day, think it over. I'll call again for your answer."

"Ok."

“Go back to sleep little rabbit. I’ll come find you in your dreams.” You smiled.

“Goodnight Vincenzo.”

“Goodnight.”

He hung up.

You waited a few minutes then called Gabriel. He answered.

“So he wants me to come to his villa for a few days,” you said.

“When?” 

“In a couple days I guess.” 

He went silent.

“Come here tomorrow morning. We’ll talk about it.”

“Ok”

“Night,”

“Night.”

The next morning you made your way to the safehouse and walked toward the back of the powerplant where the team was setup.

“Hey guys,” you said.

“Hey Y/N,” they all said in unison.

Jessica came over to you.

“Congrats on the Dracon bag. My dad keeps swearing he’ll get me on the waitlist but um….you mind if I take a look at yours in person one day?” you smiled.

“Sure Jessica, we’ll set something up after all this is over.” 

“Are you two setting up a playdate for a bag?” asked Gabriel from where he sat at a laptop.

“It’s not ‘a’ bag. It’s ‘the' bag. It’s like the only handbag in existence that appreciates over time. It's an investment piece,” said Jessica.

“Whatever you say,” he said, shaking his head. 

You walked over to where he was seated and sat down next to him. He leaned over and kissed your cheek. 

“You smell nice,” he said. 

“Thank you.”

“Something you got yesterday.”

“Something I brought with me from home,”

“Hmm.”

He looked at you for a moment.

“That’s a pretty color on you, that blouse.”

You smiled a little and turned your head towards him.

“Thanks.” 

He kept looking at you

“Your hair is-”

“You're being uncharacteristically complimentary today,” you said. 

“I compliment you all the time.”

“Not like this.”

“Oh, well maybe you prefer Vincenzo’s compliments better, small bunny.” you laughed.

“Little rabbit.”

“Whatever.” 

“So are we gonna talk about this whole villa thing.” he sighed.

“Yeah.” He turned to the laptop and started typing, bringing images up on the monitors in front of you. “We don’t have very much intel on his house. We’ve got these aerial photos of the outside, but we’ve never been able to get anyone inside, so you’ll literally be going into uncharted territory. What I want you to do is-"

"Wait, so you're ok with me going to his villa?" 

"No, but I'm going to have to be. If we're really going to do this, the mission has to come first, not my feelings of jealousy or my desire to shield you from danger. For all intents and purposes you're a part of the team now. I wouldn't treat them like that so it's only fair I don't treat you that way either."

You looked at him stunned. 

"That's very…rational of you," you said. He smiled. 

"So as I was saying, I want you to get him to give you a tour of his house. Wear the lens cam, look around slowly so we can get a good view of every room. If there are any rooms he won’t let you in, that’s fine. Don’t push him on it. We just need to get a general layout of most of the house. That’s step one.” 

As Gabriel was talking, you pulled out the small push dagger you had in a sheth on a ball bearing chain around your neck. It worried you that Enzio was having you followed and you worried about possibly being attacked so you decided to carry the dagger with you. As you listened, you started to play with it, rolling it over your fingers, doing sleight of hand movements, making the dagger disappear from one side of your hand and reappear on the other, all while focusing on the monitors, all without cutting yourself on the blades.

“Step two is-” Gabriel cut himself off as he looked down at your hand watching you play with the dagger. “You’re really good at that.” You looked at him and followed his gaze to your hand.

“Oh, I just kind of picked this up,” you said as you stopped and re-sheathed the dagger.

“You’re dangerous Y/N,” he said with a smile. You shook your head.

“Come on, I’m barely a threat.” 

“I wouldn’t mess with you.”

You smiled looking down. He grabbed your chin and pressed a sweet kiss to your mouth. You looked at each other for a moment, Gabriel noticing a bit of that spark in your eyes you used to have for him, but it had dulled recently. Seeing it was still there, if only in a miniscule amount made him hopeful and he smiled a bit, and it warmed him when you returned it. He looked at you a little while longer then continued talking. 

"Step two, I have a contact who's working on a virus to put on his computers so we can extract any information we can from them. On your tour, make note of where he keeps them. We'll get a usb to you, then all you have to do is plug it in, let it install and pull it out."

You nodded. 

"Lastly, we get you out of there and we take him out."

You took a deep breath as you nodded. He looked at you, concern in his eyes and took your hand into his stroking it with his thumb.

“You still up for this Y/N? We can still call this off, go back home….where it’s safe.”

“Will it be safe? You were so sure that if you came anywhere near me you’d hurt me. You're so sure that working toward this is what’s keeping all those feelings at bay. If we leave without accomplishing what we came here for, then what?”

He sighed.

“I’m just worried about you. Being undercover like this can be a total mind fuck. It can become difficult to keep your cover separate from reality. Lines could get blurred-”

“So you're still worried about that, about me sleeping with him.” 

“No Y/N. It's...everything else. What you’re doing. Pretending to be interested in him, kissing him, and touching him like you are.” He paused, “I’m just saying, it's possible to confuse the feelings you’re pretending to have for him with real ones. It’s possible to get too close, lose objectivity.”

“I get what you're saying. I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”

“Either way, if you need someone to keep you straight, you can talk to me, ” you huffed a laugh.

“You mean the same way, I told you, you could talk to me. You never take your own advice. Aren't you supposed to be leading by example?”

“I have a more “do as I say, not as I do” type of leadership style.”

“Clearly,” you retorted.

You both smiled.

“That’s all I got for you for right now. You can stick around if you want, hang out,” he said.

“Na, I think I’ll head back, take a nap or something.”

“Ok,” he said looking a bit disappointed.

You stood, then leaned over, placing your hand on his cheek, planting a quick kiss on his lips, which surprised him, but not enough to keep him from grabbing your arm and pulling you in for another. You smiled as you pulled back and stood up straight. 

“I’ll see you later.” you said.

“See you later.”


	16. O Sole Mio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My plate at work is a lot fuller than usual and I am drowning. As soon as I get some of these projects wrapped up and off my plate, I can get back into this hardcore like I'm itching to. Updates might be a little sporadic but I'm not going anywhere, so hang in there with me.

After leaving the safehouse, you spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon mulling about the apartment. You ordered take out from a nearby restaurant for lunch and when you went to pick it up you were well aware of the two men following behind you. You grabbed the handle to open the door to the restaurant but before you pulled it open you turned around facing the men in the distance. 

"You guys want something out of here?" you called. 

They looked around then at each other, acting like they didn't know you were speaking to them. 

"Following someone around must be hungry work. I can get you both a sandwich or something, my treat," you said. 

The men looked at you, one looking like he wanted to speak up. 

"Pan- panino con mortadella." he said.

His partner swiftly slapped him upside the back of his head. 

"Sure," you said, "Would you like one too?" you said to the man's partner. 

He sighed in defeat, putting his hands on his hips as he looked down, then nodded. You smiled. 

"I'll be right back."

When you came out the restaurant the men were standing at the entrance and you handed them a bag with their food in it.

"Grazie," one said. 

"There's waters in there too to wash it down. I'm gonna eat in that park we passed on the way over here, then I'm heading back to the apartment. So since you know where I'll be, if you guys want to take a break or something…"

They just looked at you

"Enjoy," you said and walked away heading to the park with your lunch. 

After you ate you went back to the apartment. The day passed into the next and you still hadn’t heard from Vincenzo. He was supposed to have called for your answer about coming to his villa. It was pretty late into the night now and you were considering shooting off a text to let him know what you had decided. You were standing there with your phone in sleep shorts and a t-shirt, hair secured messily on the top of your head, about to type out a text, when a knock came to the door. You went to open it and there was Vincenzo, standing on the other side.

“What are you doing here?” you asked.

“What are you doing right now?” he asked.

You held your arms open and looked down at yourself, making light of the fact that you were dressed for bed.

“Get your shoes, come with me,” he said.

“What? Vincenzo, I’m not dressed to leave the house. I look like trash,” plus you didn’t have the lens cam or necklace on. If you went with Vincenzo and something happened, Gabriel wouldn’t know where to find you.

“You look perfect Angelica. Get your shoes, come on.”

You looked at him for a second and gave an acquiescent sigh, hopefully Gabriel was tracking your phone. You turned around and lowered yourself to the floor so you could pull on a pair of nearby sneakers, then got up and grabbed your keys and left with Vincenzo.

He was driving a different luxury vehicle today, an SUV and as he drove down the road he reached over and grabbed your hand kissing the back of it.

“I just got back, but the first stop I wanted to make was to see you. Did you think about what I asked?”

“I did.”

“Well?”

“I’ll come to your villa.” He smiled.

“I’m glad. Think of it as your home away from home. I have a gym, a sauna, a pool, and anything you should want for, let me know and I’ll make sure you have it,” you smiled.

“Well right now, I want to know where we’re going.”

“Do you like boats Angelica?”

“Um...I don't have a particular opinion on them one way or the other. Are we getting on a boat?”

“You’ll see.”

Soon Vincenzo was parking and you both got out. He took your hand and began to lead you forward and you realized you were walking along a canal. Up ahead was a venetian gondola and a gondoliere dressed in the signature outfit of a striped shirt and gondoliere hat. You went down a set of stone steps and Vincenzo held onto your hand and placed his other hand on the small of your back to help steady you as you got in. He followed behind.

The seat in the gondola looked like a two-seater throne made of red velvet upholstery with ornate gold detailing around it. You took your seat and Vincenzo settled in next to you and the gondoliere pushed off from the side of the canal and began to navigate the gondola down it. 

It was quiet on this narrow stretch and yours was obviously the only gondola out on the water. It was a bit chilly that night and you wrapped your arms around yourself.

“Are you cold?” Vincenzo asked. 

“A bit.”

Vincenzo was wearing a charcoal grey blazer with black jeans and a black fitted t-shirt. He took off his blazer and put it around you. Immediately you were enveloped in the warmth of his residual body heat and the scent of his cologne. As you put your arms through the sleeves he put his arm around you and pulled you to him. You laid against him, your hand on his muscular chest.

“Have you ever been on a gondola?” he asked.

“No, this is my first time.” 

“Usually there’s singing. Shall I serenade you?”

You looked up at him from where you laid.

“Huh?” 

***O Sole Mio by Giovanni Capurro/Eduardo di Capua/Alfredo Mazzucchi***

_Ma n'atu sole_

He started to sing slowly, his voice deep but quiet so only the two of you could hear. You started to smile, still looking at him.

_Cchiu' bello, oi ne'_

He wrapped both arms around you tighter.

_O sole mio_

He looked down at you. “Don’t look at me Angelica. You're making me nervous.” You giggled and pressed your cheek to his chest, snuggling into him, wrapping your arm around him, closing your eyes as he continued to sing the refrain. He wasn’t going to headline any shows anytime soon but Vincenzo had a nice steady tone that you found soothing.

When he finished singing the refrain he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. 

"Why'd you bring me out here?" you asked, eyes still closed. 

"Truthfully, this is all just an excuse to hold you in my arms," he paused, "You're like no one I've ever met before or will probably ever meet again. You're once in a lifetime Angelica."

You felt a pang of discomfort in your stomach when he said that, because he had no clue how true that was or how near the end of his life was about to be. You had never been 100% comfortable with the idea of helping Gabriel kill someone, but it was easier to get on board with when you weren't so close to the situation. Before, it was much easier to dehumanize Vincenzo then. It was easier to tell yourself he was just a monster who needed to die for what he did to Tony, that his brutality should be met with brutality in kind. 

You didn’t disagree that he should certainly pay for killing Tony and his other crimes, but as you lay against him feeling his warmth, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, thinking about the time you had spent with him so far, it was becoming more difficult to dehumanize him in the way you had and you weren't altogether sure any more if death should be the price he should pay. 

Vincenzo continued to hold you as the gondola continued to make its way down the canal. Something about his warmth and the sounds of water being moved as the gondoliere paddled along made you start to drift off and soon you had fallen to sleep.

When the gondola docked, Vincenzo gently carried you back to the SUV and drove you back to the apartment. He carried you to your unit and used your key to open your door, then carried you to your bedroom. He pulled back the covers and laid you down, pulling off your shoes and tucking you in before sitting on the edge of bed to look at you. 

When Gabriel had seen you getting dressed for bed he decided that was a good time to take a break. He had gotten up and stretched a bit, gotten some water and sat down on his cot with his holopad to check on other things.

The rest of the team had turned in themselves and as always, he was up burning the midnight oil. At some point he must have dosed off because when he next opened his eyes he realized his holopad had fallen onto the ground and he hadn't even heard it. 

He picked it up and set it on the cot before getting up to check on you one last time before he officially turned in himself. What he saw on the screen shot panic into his stomach. 

There was Vincenzo, in the apartment, sitting on the edge of your bed while you slept. Several thoughts went through his mind all at once. 

_When the fuck did she let him in there? Why would she just go to sleep with him in the apartment? Was he supposed to stay the night? Why would she allow that knowing I'm watching? Why is he looking at her like that? What is he about to do with his fucking hand?_

He watched the screen as Vincenzo lifted his hand and gently stroked the side of your face with the back of his fingers, making you stir a bit. Gabriel leaned in closer to the screen taking in the fond expression on Vincenzo's face, and some of his panic subsided. He was still uncomfortable with Vincenzo being there, but he realized you weren't in any danger. He knew because this was something he did himself. 

Gabriel couldn't count the number of times he had sat in Vincenzo's place, watching you sleep. Watching you when you were the most unguarded and the most vulnerable, thinking to himself about all the plans he had for a future with you, thinking about how much better life was with you in it. Before you, his existence was black and white and shades of grey. Being with you was like seeing colors for the first time and they were rich and vibrant, just like you. 

He understood what it was to be caught under your spell. Inextricably drawn to you like a magnet with no hope of breaking free and never wanting to. You gave him the sweetest most addictive love he had ever experienced in his lifetime from your touch, to the sweet things you said, to the way you looked at him. You made him feel good in ways he couldn’t express with words and when you let him inside you, the pleasure you gave him went beyond just the physical, you pleasured his heart, you pleasured his soul.

What a lucky bastard Vincenzo was to experience even a fraction of what being with you was like before he died. What a gift he had given that piece of trash. How incredibly sad to have experienced a light like yours only to be snatched away from it so soon. That seemed worse than the killing itself. He imagined what it would be like to switch places with Vincenzo knowing everything he knew about what was coming, all he was losing and the thought was devastating. 

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, intertwining his fingers behind his head, taking a deep and satisfying breath. The cruelty of it all made Gabriel smile. Each day Vincenzo believed he was getting closer and closer to fully having you, to keeping you. Not knowing it was never going to happen. It was so vicious, he wished he had come up with it himself, instead of circumstance dropping it into his lap. Killing him almost seemed too excessive a punishment at this point, better to let him live forever with the knowledge of what he would never be able to obtain. But Gabriel had already committed to seeing Vincenzo dead and he had every intention of following through.

You woke that morning to the smell of Vincenzo’s cologne.

“Vincenzo,” you said tiredly as you rolled on your back, opened your eyes, and looked to your left and right. He wasn’t there. You still had his blazer on. Memories of the night before started to flood into your mind and you surmised Vincenzo must have brought you home and put you to bed. 

You don’t know why you did it, but you reached into the pockets of the blazer. In one, you felt a folded up piece of paper. In the other, you felt something soft and box shaped. You pulled the piece of paper out first and unfolded it and read what was on it.

_My Little Rabbit,_

_Did no one teach you not to go through other people's pockets?_

_I meant to give you this on the gondola but I was so taken with your pretty face as you slept, it slipped my mind. I hope you wear it and think of me._

_I’ll send a car for you in the evening._

_Until then._

_Vincenzo_

You reached into the other pocket and pulled out a black velvet jewelry box and opened it. Inside was a sterling silver charm bracelet with a single charm, a diamond encrusted rabbit.

Suddenly your phone began to vibrate in the bed and you felt around for it until you found it and answered. 

"You had a visitor last night," said Gabriel. 

"I'm aware."

"Why would you just go to sleep with him still in the apartment?" 

"I didn't. We went out-"

"What?" he sounded confused. You continued. 

"I must have fallen asleep on the gondola."

"Gondola?" he sounded even more confused. "Wait, backup Y/N."

You sighed. 

"Vincenzo dropped by last night and took me out for a ride in a gondola."

Silence

"One, who in the hell arranges a gondola ride at that time of night?" 

"I don't know Gabriel, I guess Vincenzo does."

"And two, you didn't think to tell anyone that you left with him?"

"I thought you were watching."

"I took a break. I thought you were going to bed."

"I was, until he just showed up. Anyways, I fell asleep and I guess he brought me home."

"You know he sat there for God knows how long watching you sleep. You're lucky that's all he did." He took a breath, "You shouldn't let your guard down so much with him, Y/N. Anything could have happened. What if he didn't bring you home? What if he took you elsewhere? Did something to you?" 

"He wouldn't hurt me."

"You don't know that Y/N," he paused, "This is what I was talking about. Losing perspective. Your cover might not know what he is but you do and you need to be more careful than that."

"But what is he Gabriel?" 

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what is he? You all look at him and see a beast that should be put down and that's how I saw him when we first got here, but now, I just see a man."

Gabriel took a deep breath as he tried to guess where the conversation could be going. 

"What are you saying Y/N? You see a man and what?" 

"I just….I'm not sure how comfortable I am anymore with killing him."

You heard Gabriel take a deep long breath. 

"I knew you would do this." he said. 

"Do what?" 

"Compromise the fucking mission because your cover has feelings for him and now you think you do too."

"That's not what this is."

"Isn't it? You don't know because you can't see the forest for the trees right now. 

"That's not what this is!" you shouted. 

You both went silent then you continued. 

"Just listen to me. Maybe when he was just a name on a piece of paper I could go along with killing him, no problem. I didn't have to think about the fact that he's an actual human being. But it's different now. Regardless of what he's done he's still a person and all I'm saying is, for me, I don't feel comfortable helping you kill another person." You paused. "This is your mission, it's your call at the end of the day. I'm just letting you know where my head is right now."

Silence. 

Gabriel sighed. 

"I get that you're in a tough position. You were never supposed to be this close to this thing and now that you are, I can understand that you're conflicted." He paused. "It's why I didn't want to involve you. You have a beautiful heart and a warm spirit, you care about people, even the worst people. There's nothing wrong with that. I love that part of you and I wanted so badly to protect it from all this. But for what we have to do, for this mission, there's no room for that Y/N."

You both went silent again for a few moments. 

"I'll think about it," he said out of the blue. 

"About what?" 

"Sparing him. I'm not likely to change my mind but I'll think about it."

"That's fair." He huffed a laugh. 

"See, even I can be fair sometimes."

"Thank you," you said. 

He took a deep breath. 

"You ready to go to his villa?"

"Yeah."

"Remember what we need you to do?"

"I do."

"Try to wear the lens cam as much as you can. You can take it out at night when you get settled for bed for some privacy."

"Ok"

"Y/N?"

"Yeah?" 

"I know being in his house….it's more intimate. He's gonna want more from you, do more to get it. If I was in his shoes I'd be all over you." He took a breath, "I get how tempting that can be-" 

"Gabriel I'm not-" 

"Just let me finish….All I ask is that when you feel like things are going too far, try to think of me. If the lines between your cover and reality start becoming blurred, try to remember how much I love you….I know I put you in this situation....but try Y/N, for me, for us….as long as I know you tried….I can forgive whatever happens. You understand?"

You were stunned and your eyes started to fill with tears.

"I…I understand." 

"I love you Y/N, always." You took a breath as tears spilled over your lashes. 

"Always," you repeated.


	17. A Warm Welcome

When Vincenzo sent a town car for you in the evening, the sky was just beginning to blend a spectrum of light pinks and oranges as the sun began its descent, marking the end of another day. You dressed in a white flared mini skirt, red fitted v-neck, and wedge sandals and secured the charm bracelet he had given you to your wrist. The driver helped you bring your bags down and put them in the trunk while you got in the car and then you were off. 

You rode for a while and you realized the route the driver took was the same route to get to the safehouse and as he continued to drive you realized the safehouse was actually pretty close to Vincenzo’s villa. You noticed the villas in the area were all old world italian architecture, but then there was a break and you immediately recognized the large modern villa in the distance from the aerial photos Gabriel had shown you and you sat up straighter in your seat. 

The driver turned and stopped at a large security gate and pressed a button saying something in italian, then it was opening and he was driving up a long white gravel driveway that curved into a circle in front of the house. The front of the villa was all white stone and large glass windows and dark slate colored limestone accenting parts of the facade. 

The main walkway was lined on either side by large potted plants and led to the front entrance which was a large, solid, mahogany wood door with a metal handle that ran the length of it. The entire wall to the right of the door was a water feature. Water ran gently down limestone walls to a narrow pool below where bright orange comet goldfish swam.

The driver opened your door and you got out, making a point to act like an American tourist slowly scanning the front of the property, turning round in a circle for the benefit of the camera. You then made your way up the walkway while the driver got your bags. When you were just in front of the door, it opened with a shirtless Vincenzo standing on the other side of it smiling at you. 

At some point you forgot how to breathe. His chiseled chest, abs and arms were one thing, but he was standing there wearing a pair of grey sweatpants that sat so low on his hips that your eyes had no choice but to follow his perfect v-line down. His large dick print through the sweatpants was so prominent he might as well be standing there naked.

 _Help me, sweet baby Jesus_ you thought.

“See something you like la mia stella?” asked Vincenzo.

You snapped your gaze up to his face and he gave you a knowing smirk. 

“Ah….yeah, you have a really big…house,” you said as you stepped inside, walking past him.He chuckled, his back turned to you as he took your bags from the driver and closed the door. He faced you. “Come, I’ll show you to your room.”

He made his way to the floating stone staircase just outside the foyer protruding from the wall. The staircase was enclosed in glass panels and you made a point not to touch it, lest you leave smudges as you followed Vincenzo up the stairs. There were two flights that wound up and when you got to the top, they opened up to a large sitting area. There were floor to ceiling windows just in front of you with a sliding glass door that led out onto a large balcony. The sitting room was decorated in white and dark grey. 

A graphite colored, low-pile shag rug adorned the large heated, stone tile floors that ran throughout the house and on top of it sat white furniture, two tufted couches and two chairs that sat in front of a large natural multi-colored stone surround fireplace. One side of the sitting room led to dark wooden double doors with chrome handles which you assumed was Vincenzo’s room, the other side led down a long walkway that overlooked downstairs, the glass panels continuing along it. Vincenzo led you down it, until he stopped in front of a door. 

You reached forward and opened it for him since his hands were full and followed him into a large guest bedroom. A white sheepskin rug surrounded a large bed with a grey tufted headboard that ran up the length of the wall. The bed looked like a cloud, made up in white linens and white lofty pillows of varying sizes. Over the bed was an abstract chandelier. To the left of the bed were sliding glass doors that led out onto the balcony you had seen from the sitting room and to the right were two double doors that led to a walk in closet. Just next to the entrance was the door to a white and chrome spa bathroom complete with a slate tile rain shower enclosed in glass and a freestanding tub just begging to be soaked in.

Vincenzo set your bags down on the bed.

“Get settled then come downstairs,” he said. You nodded and he grabbed your chin and pecked your lips before leaving out the room. 

You unpacked and put your things away in the massive closet, then laid back on the bed, testing that out a bit, before you took off your shoes and made your way downstairs.

You made your way to the kitchen. Vincenzo’s kitchen broke the recurrent pattern of white and stone and wood tones. It was black and white, with a long large black marble waterfall island with white cabinetry underneath. Behind the island were sleek black and chrome appliances surrounded by white lower cabinetry and black upper cabinetry. 

Across the room from the kitchen, in front of a wall of windows was a formal dining area with a long chrome and glass table with enough seating for eight and a main sitting area, the limestone from outside surrounding a long rectangular fireplace with luminescent fire glass rocks inside.

Vincenzo was in the kitchen, with a t-shirt on now, standing behind the island pouring you both a glass of red wine. You took a seat at one of the stools in front of him and he slid your glass to you. You picked it up and took a sip before he spoke.

“I was thinking you could help me with dinner.”

“You're gonna cook?” you said in disbelief. He took a sip from his wine and leaned forward, his forearms on the island.

“You think I can’t?” 

“I don’t know, I just figured you had a chef or something.” 

“Sometimes I do, but tonight I want to cook for you. You know I didn’t just watch when my mother was cooking, I helped out. She taught me things.”

“Like what?”

“Like how to make pasta. I used to sit in her lap when I was little and watch her make the different shapes. Her hands were fast, like a little machine. Handmade pasta is a dying art these days, lucky for you she taught me how to make some of my favorites.” You smiled.

“So what are you making for me?”

“Orecchiette. Little ears,” he gave you a pointed look that you couldn’t read, but then his face relaxed. “You’ll help, right?”

“Sure.” 

He stood up right and started pulling out things around the kitchen to make the meal. On the island, he placed a roll of pasta dough that was in plastic wrap, two cooling racks, and two butter knives. He washed his hands then turned to you.

“Wash your hands.”

You got up from the stool and came around the island to wash your hands at the sink then went to stand next to Vincenzo. You reached out and touched the dough which had been removed from the plastic and was sitting on the marble.

“Did you make this?” you asked as you kept poking at it.

“Yes, now stop doing that,” he said pushing your hand to the side. “First, we need to cut a strip off and roll it out so it's even.” He took the butter knife and cut a strip off the dough and started rolling it out then stopped. “You do it.” He stepped back so you could stand where he had been and you continued rolling out the dough. He pressed himself to you, looking over you as you worked. He picked up his wine and took a sip then set his glass down. He then leaned into you, pushing your hair to the side to place kisses on your neck, making you smile, as he put his hand on the back of your thigh and slowly slid it up under your skirt stopping just short of your ass cheek sending tingles up your leg to your center.

“Is this good?” you asked, breathily coming to a stop. You had a long, skinny, but plump, uniform roll of dough.

“Mmm hmm.” You stepped back over so he could take your place in front of the dough. “Now, you want to cut off a piece about as long as your thumb nail,” he did, “Then to form the orecchiette you press the knife to the far end of the dough and drag it forward,” he did this as he talked, “See how the dough rolls onto the knife?” you nodded, “then you fold it over your thumb and turn it inside out as it comes off the knife, and voila, orecchiette,” he said as he held the almost ear shaped pasta in his hand. He set it on the cooling rack. “Now you try.”

“Do one more first,” you said. He nodded, then quietly repeated the steps. 

“Think you can do it?” he said, handing you the knife.

“We’ll find out.” You grabbed the skinny dough roll and cut off a piece, then tried to put enough pressure to drag the dough forward with the knife so it rolled onto it, but you used too much and ended up flattening the dough to the marble. Vincenzo stepped back again.

“Come,” he said, ushering you in front of him. 

He pressed himself to you again and reached in front of you taking your hands. He wasn’t wearing the cologne he usually had on, instead he smelled of the woodsy, citrusy scent of the soap he used. His chest and arms were warm against you and you fought the urge to lean back onto him and close your eyes. He guided your hands as he cut off another piece of dough. 

“It took me a long time to learn how much pressure to use,” he pressed the knife down with you, stopping right before you had to drag it forward. At the same time, he pressed himself even closer to you, and you felt his length against your ass, “Right there. You feel that?” he breathed into your ear. Your cheeks immediately heated.

“Mmm hmm,” you said softly. He softly kissed the shell of your ear and your skin broke out in goosebumps.

“That’s how much pressure you should use. Then drag it forward,” he continued to direct your hands, “And fold it back over your thumb...Again?”

You nodded.

He continued to hold your hands to make a few more, then let you make them on your own. You had it down pretty good by then, but when he joined you in making the orecchiette, you realized just how slow you were going. He was churning them out rapidly. For every one you made he had made six and you stopped to watch him. He looked over and realized he had an audience, but kept churning out pasta.

“I’ve been doing this since I was a boy. It takes years to get this fast, although I think my mother was even faster than this.”

You both kept making the orecchiette until the cooling racks were filled. Vincenzo wrapped up the remaining dough and moved it and the cooling racks to the refrigerator. He pulled out two cutting boards and two chef's knives and you both got to work chopping ingredients to go with the pasta, broccolini and garlic. You made quick work of cutting up the broccolini into smaller bite sized pieces and you grabbed two cloves of garlic off Vincenzo’s cutting board and began cutting them into thin translucent slices as he was doing. He leaned over, inspecting what was happening on your side.

“Are you over here checking my work?” you said, continuing the task, not looking up. “I know how to cook Vincenzo.”

“I don’t know if I believe that,” he said returning to his cutting board with a smirk.

“You’ll see.” you said.

“Well you can go prove yourself now. There’s sausage by the stove, do me a favor and start breaking that up and rendering it down.”

“Yes Chef,” you said sarcastically, turning to go to the stove. 

Vincenzo dropped his knife and turned, swiftly pulling you to himself making you shriek as you laughed. 

“Are you getting smart with me?” he asked, before playfully mouthing your neck, tickling you as you continued laughing. He turned you around to face him. You were still giggling a bit as he wrapped his arms around your waist. Your giggling stopped as you took in the look in his eyes. They were hungry and full of lust. The desire in them rendered you speechless. He pecked your mouth, “Sausage,” he said, softly patting your ass, before letting you go. 

“Sausage,” you replied, turning to the stove, while he turned back to the cutting board on the island.

There was a pot of water bubbling away next to you and Vincenzo came over and put two handfuls of salt into it, then went to the fridge to get the orecchiette and set it on the island. He then came up next to you with the broccolini you had chopped up and put it into the pan with the rendered down sausage. You moved it around in the pan as he put in a pinch of salt and drizzled in olive oil. He poured some on his finger and brought it to your mouth and you sucked it off.

“Best olive oil in Italy,” he said.

“It's delicious,” you said with a smile. 

He kissed your cheek, before he went to put bread in the oven to toast up and clean up a bit. Once the broccolini was soft he brought over the garlic and tossed in some red pepper flakes. Then he poured the orecchiette into the boiling water. 

When the garlic had browned a bit he ladeled in some of the pasta water and you continued to move everything around as it created a slightly thick sauce. Soon the pasta was floating to the top of the water and Vincenzo scooped it out into the pan. You put your spoon down and picked up the pan to expertly toss everything together, quickly moving the pan forward and back so everything came to the edge and flipped over, without spilling a drop.

“Very nice Angelica,” Vincenzo said in an impressed tone. 

“I told you I could cook.”

He went to get the bread out the oven and sliced it up then drizzled it with olive oil. You brought the pan of pasta over to the marble island and set it down and he grabbed it and plated some up for the two of you, drizzling more olive oil over the top of it. Then he got a micro plane and a block of parmesan and grated it over the top.

“Beautiful,” he said, before looking at you, “You want to eat here or at the dining table?”

“Let’s eat here, informal.”

He set your plates in front of two stools at the island and moved the bread to where you’d be able to reach it. Then he topped up your wine and you both took your seats.

Your first forkful was heavenly and you expressed it with an, “Oh my God.” He looked at you with a smile.

“Good?” You nodded, “Here, try with the bread,” he used a piece of bread to soak up some of the sauce on his plate and brought it to your mouth.

“Mmmm,” you hummed, he grinned.

“Yeah?” 

You nodded as he reached forward to wipe the sauce on the corner of your mouth with his thumb and suck it off. 

You both contentedly continued to eat your meals and drink your wine, making light conversation. By the time the meal was done you both were on your third glass and your head was slightly spinning. 

You and Vincenzo picked up your wine glasses and made your way over to the main sitting room. It was dark outside now and you could see the pool lit up through the windows. The little bit of light from the pool plus the light from the kitchen lit the sitting area up dimly. Vincenzo set his glass on the coffee table and went to the fireplace and flipped a switch to turn it on, casting a bright warm glow. 

You took a seat on the couch, holding your wine, leaning against the arm, your legs tucked under you as Vincenzo came to sit next to you.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked.

“It’s your house,” you said with a smile.

He leaned forward and reached for a drawer in the coffee table opening it and pulling out a humidor, a cigar cutter, lighter, and ashtray. He pulled a cigar out of the humidor, cut it, and lit it, then sat back, his arm outstretched across the back of the couch behind you as he took a deep draw then slowly exhaled.

“I love an occasional cigar after dinner. It relaxes me. Have you smoked them before?” he asked.

“Mmm hmm,” you answered, taking a sip of your wine. He held out his cigar offering it to you.

“Would you like to?” 

“Why not?” you said taking it from him. 

He watched you intently as you brought the cigar to your mouth and took a draw from it, then you closed your eyes and held your head back, slowly exhaling with your mouth open so the smoke billowed out of it and cascaded over you chin, like thick fog over a mountain, then dissipated. You opened your eyes and brought your head up, handing the cigar back to Vincenzo. He was still looking at you, but his eyes were hooded now.

“I’ve never seen anyone actually succeed at making cigar smoking look sexy,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“They try, with the advertising, women scantily clad, looking seductive while they smoke a cigar. It's supposed to be titillating, but it’s never done anything for me.” He turned to you, his arm still across the back of the couch, closing off the space you two were in so it felt so much more intimate as he continued to talk in a low tone. “Watching you, the expression on your face, the way the smoke came out of your perfect mouth. Sex. That’s the only way to describe it.”

Something about what he said, how he said it, sent sensation through you, and you felt goosebumps raise on your arms. He offered the cigar to you again and you took it from him. When you brought it to your mouth to take a draw from it, he reached out and gently ran the back of his finger under your chin. You turned your head to exhale so you didn’t blow smoke in his face, then handed the cigar back to him. 

He took the cigar and set it in the ashtray then turned back to you, placing his hand on your cheek as he leaned in for a slow, gentle kiss, both of you closing your eyes as he moved his soft lips over yours. He pulled your bottom lip into his mouth sucking it as he pulled back from you a bit and released it. He was still holding your cheek and you were looking in each other's eyes now, the intensity of his desire visible and captivating. His face was so close to yours, you were centimeters from rubbing noses and you could feel his breath ghost across your face as you looked at one another. 

He took your wine glass out your hand and quickly set it on the coffee table, then grabbed your face with both hands crashing his lips into yours, his tongue pressing for entry and soon both your tongues were intertwined as you held his wrists, your lips following his lead, his passionate kiss, igniting something deep within you that had been dormant for a while. 

You stopped thinking and let feeling take over, moving forward, climbing onto his lap, straddling him, your lips never parting from the kiss that was becoming more frantic and urgent now as he wrapped his arms around you, his hand roaming your back, fingers snaking into your hair as he pressed you to him. 

You grabbed his cheeks, then slid your hands down his neck to his chest and soon he was grabbing the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head, breaking your kiss for mere seconds as he tossed it somewhere then you pressed your lips back together picking up from where you left off. 

You let your hands roam his chest as he pushed his tongue into your mouth and you began to suck on it, making him hum. As your hands moved lower, so did your mouth, pulling his bottom lip into it, sucking on it as you traced his abs with your fingertips, his muscles jumping under your touch, before your lips were back on his.

As you pinched his nipples in your fingers, his hands began to squeeze your ass and roam your thighs, running down the sides to your knees. Then he glided them over the top, his hands disappearing under your skirt as he reached for your hips. Your lips were still moving in tandem as he pulled you down onto him and rolled his hips up into you, his hard, sweatpants covered length rubbing against your core. You broke the kiss and gasped. 

“You want that Angelica?” he breathed, his lips still touching yours. You couldn’t respond, your mind caught in a lust filled fog. He rolled his hips into you again and you grabbed the back of his neck pressing your forehead to his. 

“Oh my God,” you breathed looking at each other as you licked your lips trying to think and catch your breath at the same time.

Suddenly, you were being pushed onto your back. Vincenzo laid you down on the couch and got on top of you between your legs, he pressed his lips back to yours and you wrapped one arm around him as the other held his cheek, at the same time his hands took a journey of your legs running down your thigh to your ass cheek, which he squeezed, and back up to your knee. He rolled his hips into you again and you arched up into him, wrapping your leg around him. 

He grabbed the crook of your knee, hiking your leg up higher on his waist as his lips left yours and began to nip and lick at your jaw and your neck, your hands now in his hair. He humped into you again and you threw your head back, arching again as you hummed. He did it once more. This time you rocked your hips with his and the increased pressure and friction of him rubbing against your clit sent a jolt through you that made you moan loudly. Hearing yourself quickly snapped you back to Earth.

“Stop Vincenzo,” you said, breathing hard. He pulled back from you, kneeling between your legs, looking at you for a moment. 

“I want you so badly. Why won’t you give yourself to me? What more do I have to do?” he breathed. 

You pulled yourself up so you were sitting up right then you pulled your legs to yourself and swung them off the side of the couch so you could stand and pull your skirt down. You reached down and grabbed your wine glass.

“I’m going to bed,” you said.

You started to walk away and he grabbed your hand.

“Don’t go Angelica.” 

You looked at him and his pleading eyes and pulled your hand from his, then turned and made your way upstairs. 

When you got to your room, you closed the door and rushed for the bathroom. You went to the bathtub and turned it on pulling the stopper when the temperature was to your liking so it started to fill then you set your wine on the lip of the tub. 

You went to the mirror and took out the lens cam and put it in its case, then undid the necklace and put them both into a toiletry bag you had taken in there earlier and took the bag to the bed shoving it under the pillows. You quickly removed your clothes and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind you. You went back to the tub and turned off the faucet. The tub was less than half full but that was ok, you’d be adding more water shortly.

You got in and sat down, the water came up to just below your stomach. You grabbed the handheld wand and flipped the switch so it was on exclusively then turned the water back on. You turned the settings on the wand until there was a strong focused stream coming out of it and you sunk down in the tub and opened your legs focusing the stream on your clit.

You started to breath deeply, arching some as the intense sensation of the water pounding against your nub sent shivers up your spine. Soon you were gripping the back of the tub with your other hand, panting and rocking your hips as you held the wand tightly in place, the water right where you needed it. Moans started to leave your mouth and echo through the bathroom. 

You let go of the tub and clamped your hand over your mouth as you started to writhe and moan louder, sucking on your fingers now, as the pounding water against your clit drove you closer and closer to orgasm. Soon it became too intense and you were lifting your hips out the water, moving the wand with you, keeping that pounding stimulation on your clit as you came so hard, you could barely contain your screams of ecstasy. 

It had been so incredibly long since you had an orgasm and playing this seductive game with Vincenzo did nothing but make it worse. You were constantly being watched in the apartment and you probably could have rubbed one out in the bathroom, but you were afraid whoever was watching would hear that too. So you kept holding out as long as you possibly could, until you actually contemplated dry humping Vincenzo on his couch. Now that you had found release, you felt so incredibly relieved. 

As you came down from your high, you leaned back against the tub, feeling boneless, breathing deeply. You used all the strength you could muster to sit up and turn the water source back to the faucet and reseat the wand where it belonged. You grabbed your glass of wine and took a big gulp as you leaned back, feeling extremely relaxed. You don’t know why, but you looked at the door and you could swear you saw a shadow pass underneath it, like someone had been standing there and had walked away.


	18. Vulnerability and Clarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of long, but ya'll don't mind. Enjoy!

Later that night you were in the bed, asleep on your side when you felt the bed dip down as someone climbed in behind you. You opened your eyes but remained on your side as an arm wrapped around your waist. 

"Vincenzo?" 

"Angelica...Can I stay with you tonight?" His voice sounded weird, like he was distressed.

"What's wrong?" you asked. 

"Just let me stay with you. Let me sleep next to you." 

You took a deep breath, “Vincenzo you need to-” you said in protest, thinking he was back to continue what was started in his sitting room. 

“I don’t want to be alone,” he cut you off, his voice almost a whisper and you realized what you thought wasn’t it. Something really was wrong.

You put your hand on his arm around you and started to stroke it. 

"Tell me what's wrong." you said. He stayed silent. “Vincenzo,” you said softly. 

He took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly.

"All this talk of my mother lately….it's brought up bad memories….nightmares."

You turned around to face him and he gently touched your cheek with his fingers. It was too dark to see his features, but his demeanor seemed sad. You took his hand into yours and intertwined your fingers. You kissed it and held it to your chest. 

"Do you want to tell me about them?" 

"I…" he hesitated, "My dreams, my memories...they'd only frighten you. They still frighten me." He paused, "This is embarrassing. I'm supposed to be this dangerous and threatening man, but I'm still so frightened by the things I experienced as a boy that I have to come crawling into your bed like a child afraid of the bumps in the night…It's pathetic." He turned his head away from you. 

You touched his cheek turning him back to you. 

"Don't feel embarrassed. I have things in my past that still scare me and sometimes I need to be comforted. There's nothing wrong with that, needing comfort, needing someone to help ease the fear and pain away." You paused, "If it'll help, you can talk to me, you can cry. I won't judge you, I promise."

Vincenzo laid there for a while facing you, before he took a deep breath and sunk down some in the bed. He pressed his cheek to your chest and wrapped his arms around you, like a child clinging to their mother. 

You held onto him and stroked his hair.

"It's so hard to talk about." he said. 

"Thats ok. You can go slow, tell me as much or as little as you want." He nodded then took a deep breath. 

"I…I told you my mother died."

"Mmm hmm."

"I never said how." He paused and you felt him shudder. He took another deep breath. "My father….in front of me." he choked out. "He...he killed…he.." he was trembling now struggling to get it out. You held him tightly, kissing his forehead. 

"It's ok, I understand." you said. 

He held onto you tightly, your shirt bunched in his fists as he shook. He was silent, but you could feel his tears pooling on your skin where he laid. You rubbed his back in circles continuing to hold him until he calmed a bit. 

He took another deep breath, another shudder running through him before he continued. A

"He used to beat her all the time." He said, then sniffed. "I used to cover her, lay over her, take some of the blows for her, try to lessen her suffering." He sniffed again. "It's funny you know? That's the only time he ever hit me, when I was blocking him from hitting her. Outside of that, he reserved all his ire for her exclusively."

He paused. Then breathed deeply for a while trying to steady himself. 

"The day after I turned thirteen…he was in one of his rages about a shaving blade not being sharp enough, somehow it was her fault."

He paused again and another shudder went through him as you felt more tears on your skin and you wrapped your arms around him tighter as he continued to breathe through it deeply. It was a while before he spoke again. 

"He knew….he knew I'd cover her, so he…" he paused again and you rubbed his back again, letting him take the time he needed to continue if he wanted to. "He had his men hold me back. I remember screaming, struggling against them, reaching out for my mother as my father dragged her into the room by her hair." He paused again, his breaths quickening, "I remember her cries as he punched her, her screams as he kicked her, the sound of his palm on her skin as he slapped her. Then he…" He was shaking again, squeezing you so tight you thought you might bruise but you wordless let him cling to you. "He stomped her head, over and over and over again, until she stopped moving, stopped making noise."

A chill went through you but you continued to hold on to Vincenzo, continued to rub his back and press kisses to his forehead. More silent minutes went by before he spoke again. 

"He locked me in my room so I couldn't go to her or call for help. Then he let me out two days later. I went downstairs and she...she…" he sniffed "She was still lying there Angelica." He cried. "He was in the house the whole time and he just walked past her tiny, broken body for two days." He sobbed. "There was nothing I could do for her. She was gone, but I should have done something…fought harder, screamed louder, something. I should have done something, I should have…I should have done..." his voice was frantic through his tears, his guilt and pain palpable. 

"Shhhhh," you pressed his head to you, only just realizing you were crying with him. "There was nothing you could do," you whispered. "I'm so so sorry Vincenzo….you did nothing wrong...there was nothing you could do."

You held each other as he continued to sob. His story made you think of your own childhood about being a little girl watching your father brutalize your mother. His story could have so easily been yours. 

You had only found out recently that you were spared the same fate because your mother had killed your father, but you realized how lucky she had been, because it was more common for things to end up the way it had for Vincenzo’s mother.

What a horrific thing to have witnessed and lived through. You couldn't begin to fathom the depth of his pain. You had some idea. You knew the pain of losing your mother to someone else's hands, but to have it done in front of you with no way to stop it. You couldn't imagine the level of trauma he must have suffered as a boy and the level of guilt he still carried around as a man. Your heart broke for him, for the little boy he once was, who just wanted to protect his mother, but couldn't. 

You continued to hold him until he stopped crying and eventually he stopped shaking too but by then you had both fallen asleep. 

When you woke in the morning, Vincenzo was gone. You laid there thinking about what had transpired the night before. 

It's not like you and Vincenzo knew each other incredibly well but the fact that he trusted you enough to share his pain with you, to come to you for comfort when he really needed it. It was refreshing, because it was something you had been wanting Gabriel to do for so long but he simply didn't trust you enough to be that open and vulnerable with you and the one time he had, he regretted it. 

Gabriel had your heart, he had your everything, completely, and what did you have? His bits and pieces, his fragments that he gave over begrudgingly. Why was it so easy for this person you hardly knew to do what Gabriel, your boyfriend whom you had known for years, couldn't, no, wouldn't? Gabriel would rather hurt you than be open with you, would rather violently push you away then let you give him the comfort you knew he so desperately wanted, needed. 

Maybe it was you. Maybe your brand of comfort and support was incompatible with Gabriel. Maybe you'd be better off going where you were needed, where you were wanted, like right here, with Vincenzo. 

You instantly felt disturbed by the thought as soon as you thought it. _Where did that come from?_ But you put all of it out of your head as Vincenzo came in the room with a tray of food. You sat up, propping yourself against the pillows.

“Good Morning,” he said, making his way around the bed to you.

“Good Morning. What’s all this?” 

“Breakfast,” he said, sitting the tray on your lap. “We Italians are not really big on breakfast like you Americans, so I had my chef put something together.” you smiled.

“You didn’t have to do that. I’d have eaten whatever you were eating.”

“I want you to feel at home.”

“Thank You Vincenzo.”

On the tray was buttered sourdough toast that had grill marks, from being toasted in a grill pan, scrambled eggs, bacon, orange juice, water, and three small jars of fruit preserves; grape, apricot, and strawberry.

“What do you usually eat?” you asked as he walked to the other side of the bed and got in next to you.

“Coffee, sometimes with milk. Or espresso. Maybe a pastry if I’m feeling really hungry.”

“That’s it?”

“It’s the Italian way.”

“Hmm.”

You looked at him, looking for even an inkling of regret for being so open with you but it wasn't there and you realized he seemed lighter somehow. You felt relieved by that. 

You turned to your tray and grabbed one of the jars of preserves and opened it, picking up your knife to spread it on a piece of toast.

“So what are we doing today?” you asked , before lifting the toast to your mouth and taking a bite.

“Whatever you want.”

You set your toast down and grabbed your fork cutting into the eggs. “You said you have a gym?” you put a forkful into your mouth.

“I do.”

You finished chewing and swallowing.

“I’d like to see it. In fact, I want a tour of the whole house.”

He smiled.

“After you eat.”

You went in for some more eggs with the fork in one hand, grabbing a piece of bacon with the other. You bit off a chunk of the bacon before bringing the eggs up to your mouth, but before you put them in you turned your head to the left to see Vincenzo watching you, an amused expression on his face. You cleared your mouth.

“Are you gonna sit there and watch me eat?”

“The way you eat fascinates me.”

“Well you're making me self-conscious. You mind if me and my breakfast get some privacy?”

“If that’s what you want, but you have nothing to be self-conscious about around me. I want you to be yourself.” Something about the way he said that last part sounded strange to you and you stared at him. He leaned forward and kissed your mouth. “Finish eating, I’ll be in the sitting room down the hall when you're ready for your tour.”

He got up from the bed and left the room. You finished your breakfast, then brushed your teeth and changed into workout clothes; leggings, a sports bra, and sneakers then put in the lens cam and put on the mic necklace.

You left the room. You could see the sitting room from the door. Vincenzo was sitting there with another man. 

You slowly walked over to them. The man looked up at you as you came in and Vincenzo followed his gaze turning to you. He gestured for you to come to him and when you got in front of him he grabbed your hand and gently pulled you down to sit on his lap, wrapping his arm around your waist. 

"Angelica, this is my cousin Matteo."

"Hi," you said. 

He nodded his greeting, then said something to Vincenzo in italian. Vincenzo laughed a little before he answered, also in italian, then looked at you.

"He said, wherever I go, a beautiful woman is sure to follow. I told him in your case, I'm the one doing the following." you smiled. “He’s having a party tonight, would you like to go little rabbit?”

“Um...yeah, ok.”

"Are you ready for your tour?" You nodded, "Lets go."

You both stood and Vincenzo put his arm back around your waist. As you walked away from his cousin, he rubbed the exposed skin of your lower back as he led you to the balcony to open the sliding doors. 

You stepped out onto the long balcony and put your hands on the railing looking down below. You were directly over the large pool that was currently in the process of being cleaned by a man you hadn’t seen before. There were other men on the property as well, two armed guards patrolling the perimeter. 

Vincenzo came up behind you, placing his hands on either side of yours on the railing, pressing himself to you. 

"Were they here yesterday?" you asked pointing to the guards . 

Vincenzo leaned forward kissing your cheek. 

"No, they’re my cousin's. He never goes anywhere without security."

"Mmm." 

Now that you thought about it, you recalled the same being said about Vincenzo. That he always had guards around him except at his club. But as you went through your memories of the time you had spent with him, you didn’t recall him ever having security with him when you were together. It was strange and you made a mental note to bring it up to Gabriel the next time you spoke.

“We both have a door in our rooms that leads out here. We could meet here accidentally one night.”

You smiled and turned around.

“Accidentally on purpose,” you said. 

He nodded as he leaned forward and gently kissed your lips, pressing his forehead to yours with a smile. 

"Shall we continue our tour?" he whispered. 

"Yes," you whispered back. 

He took your hand in his and turned to go back inside. He led you to the double doors on the right, his bedroom. 

Entering his room was like entering a totally different house. It was very masculine, decorated in shades of charcoal, black and, dark wood tones. His bed was huge and sat on top of a charcoal rug with a black studded leather bench in front of it. It had a black leather headboard and like yours, it traveled up the length of the wall, flanked by black pendant lamps hanging from the ceiling on either side. 

You saw openings toward the bottom of the headboard on either side and you walked closer to the bed to see what they were. You leaned down, looking at two metal rings bolted into the wall. You reached out to touch the one closest to you but as you did you noticed movement above you in your peripheral vision. You turned more and looked up. 

"What the hell?" you said to yourself, before you sat on the edge of the bed and laid back to get a better look. You laid there looking at yourself in the mirror on the ceiling. 

Vincenzo sat and laid back next to you. 

"Do you ever worry about this breaking? Being cut or impaled by the shards falling from the ceiling?" you asked. 

"Not until just now. Thank you for that," you laughed.

"I'm assuming this has something to do with some kind of voyeurism kink?" you asked. 

"The idea of a woman watching me fuck her, turns me on."

You rolled your eyes, taking a deep breath. 

"And the rings in the wall?"

"Sometimes I like being restrained. Sometimes I like for the woman I'm fucking to be restrained."

"I see." you said quietly. 

"Have you ever been fucked in front of a mirror Angelica?" he said low, "Watched the way a man disappears inside you?" he turned to you and pressed a kiss to your shoulder, making you shudder as you continued to look at the mirror, "Watched your reactions when he's fucking you just the way you like it?" he leaned in close to your ear breathing on you. He started to slowly walk his fingers down your stomach stopping at the waistband of your leggings and you could feel your nipples start to harden as he spoke in an almost whisper into your ear. "The faces you make? The way you arch and writhe on the bed? The effects the momentum of his pounding into you has on your body?" He slipped the tip of his finger under your waistband and you took a deep inhale. He slowly ran it between your skin and the fabric to your hip then went back the other way. The tingles his touch set off made you tremble a bit. He kissed your ear. "Have you ever watched a man lick your pussy from a different perspective than just looking down at him?” He took your earlobe into his mouth and released it. “Have you ever watched yourself cum?"

"No," you whispered. 

"Would you like to?" 

You turned your head to him, looking at him for a minute and you saw the seduction in his eyes. You pulled his hand away from you and sat up. 

"Let's finish the tour."

He took a breath, smirking as he got up. He led you through the rest of his room, through his huge frosted glass enclosed closet with dark wood fixtures, through his large bathroom with its stone double sided rain shower with body jets. 

He showed you two more bedrooms just like yours then led you downstairs. As you went along you made a point of looking around each room slowly for the benefit of the camera. 

You had already seen the kitchen, dining room, and main sitting room, but you stopped so he could introduce you to his chef, Anton. 

Around the corner from the kitchen was a hall that led to another set of stairs. Just before the stairs was his office. You took note of the laptop that lay closed on the desk. 

Across from the office was a glass door that led to a courtyard. There was a large fountain in the middle of it, rectangular slabs of limestone in various sizes that water came out the top of and cascaded over to a large square shaped pool below. The same comet goldfish from the front swimming inside. There were stone benches along the outer walls of the courtyard except for one where a wall garden of various herbs and greens were growing. 

He led you back inside and down the other staircase which led to a hall. On the left side were large windows that looked into the gym. It ran the length of the house and had light hardwood floors. On one side there was a treadmill and an expensive exercise bike with a TV attached. A metal TRX frame was bolted into the floor and a punching bag and speed bag hung from the ceiling. The other side was more open and the wall on that side was mirrored with free weights organized on racks in front of it. There were two doors inside the gym, one led to a storage closet where other workout equipment was organized. The other led to a full spa bathroom where the large sauna was located. 

Back out in the hall there was a door at the end that led to a multi-vehicle garage whose main entrance from the street was in the back of the house. Then there was a door on the right of the hall, but he wouldn't let you look inside. 

"Other than this room, you're welcome to go wherever you like."

"Let me guess, your enchanted rose is in there wilting away as we speak," he smiled. 

"It's just a storage room. It's not organized very well and things tend to fall off the shelves so it's better if you stay out of there, for your safety." You nodded. 

"Thank you for the tour. Your house is beautiful."

"Thank you."

"I'm gonna head into the gym, now."

"Let me know if you need help with anything."

"Mmm hmm." 

He made his way back up the stairs. You watched until he got to the top and turned down the hall. You waited a bit more then turned to the door of the storage room. You didn't buy his explanation. You turned the door knob. It was locked. 

Meanwhile, back at the safehouse, Gabriel and Jessica had been watching the monitors since the day before.

When you got in the car, Gabriel got antsy and started bouncing his knee as he watched. When you got out the car, he got close to the screen, taking in as many details as he could as you panned the camera around the front of Vincenzo’s house. 

"Good girl Y/N, slow and steady just like that," said Gabriel. 

"You know she can't hear you right?" said Jessica. 

"Doesn't mean I can't encourage her from afar." 

They watched as your eyes fell straight to Vincenzo’s crotch when he came to the door. 

Gabriel was annoyed. 

"Why hello sir," Jessica said in an impressed tone. Gabriel cut his eyes at her. 

"You mind keeping your hormone-driven commentary to yourself." he said, voice dripping in irritation.

"I can try, but come on. That dude's hot, even if he is murderous scum."

"You used to ogle me like that a couple years ago. One really has to wonder about your taste in men."

"Hey, my eyes like hot guys of all varieties, although it's weird to think about you in that way now. You're like, I don't know, a father figure to me." 

He looked at her in surprise. 

"I…don't even know how to feel about that."

"Feel flattered. Having me look up to you is a privilege and an honor." He huffed a laugh. 

"Humility really is a foreign concept to you, isn't it?"

She shrugged. 

They continued to watch the two of you cook and Gabriel could tell Angelica was taking over and when you retired to the couch and started to kiss Vincenzo, he knew his Y/N was nowhere to be found. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath then got up, deciding to take his leave. He said he'd forgive you if anything happened between you and Vincenzo but that didn't mean he had to sit and watch.

He grabbed his holopad and went out to the van, his stomach in knots. A little while later Jessica came out and opened the back door. 

"Hey, nothing happened. I mean I think there was a bit of dry humping between them, but she got up and left before she got too far into it,” said Jessica.

He nodded feeling a little relief, but not much. She climbed into the van and sat next to him. 

"You gonna be ok with all of this? We've got days to go before she completes what we need her to do. It could get…rough."

He sighed. 

"I'll be alright."

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded. "I'm probably prying and you can tell me to piss off if you want. But what happened to you two? You guys were like Overwatch’s poster couple, always lovey dovey, always happy together. But now….she seems really disappointed in you and you look like a puppy dog following her around with your sad puppy eyes, trying to change her mind. What did you do?"

“You know, normally, I would tell you to piss off. But I think this mission is making me go soft in the head.” He took a breath, “She wants me to open up the Vault of Gabriel, tell her all my deep dark secrets, things I’m ashamed of, things that haunt me, share my pain, my grief, my regrets. I’m struggling with it and in my efforts to remain...closed off, I’ve pushed her away in ways that aren’t kind. I’ve neglected her and I’ve hurt her, physically and emotionally.”

“Wow. Well you seem to have a firm grasp of what you did wrong."

He nodded. 

"It's why I've kind of resolved to be ok with whatever happens between her and Vincenzo. I threw her into this when she was already feeling neglected and unloved, I can't blame her for seeing him as a soft place to land after all that. Especially being undercover like this. I can already tell its fucking with her head."

"Then why send her in there at all? Why not call this off before it ruins both of you? Does killing Vincenzo matter that much to you?"

"If I don't do this, we're ruined anyways, we're both pretty much on the same page about that." 

Jessica shook her head. 

"You two are…really sad. You didn't hear this from me but I overheard her talking to Genji before we came out here about her reasons for doing this. She's trying to show you she can handle your world, I'm guessing, so maybe you'll trust her with all your baggage. She's willing to destroy herself just to get you to open up to her. But what surprises me is that you would let her," said Jessica. 

She sighed, then continued. 

"Y/N is pretty tough but when it was just about dancing on a stage and opening a door, I knew she could handle that. But this, this is where what you said before comes into play. She's not trained for this Commander and it's glaringly obvious she's already lost the plot." he looked at her.

"This was your idea Jessica, letting her get close to him, you all pushed me to let her do this."

"I know and I'm starting to realize that maybe I was wrong, we all were. Maybe I was too focused on vengeance to see it. I want to nail Vincenzo as bad as you do and maybe me and Y/N aren't besties but I can still think it's wrong to do it at her expense." 

Gabriel sighed and put his head in his hands. 

"I set out to do this for Tony and for myself and I keep telling myself that if this is what it takes then it's ok, but I hate this. I hate this so much…watching him put his hands on her, watching her lose herself to her cover, watching her give in and enjoy it. I'm trying to remain objective, put the mission first and if it were anybody else I could but…" He took a breath, " I guess deep down I know you're right."

There was a long moment of silence 

"Hey maybe you'll be better off just going home, ripping off the bandaid, and opening up "The Vault of Gabriel." I mean, I've seen your personnel file, there's nothing in there that-" he sat up and glared at her, cutting her off.

“Excuse me? You’ve seen my what?”

“Your personnel file.”

“You don't have the access or the clearance to see my personnel file.”

“My father...does?” He took a deep breath. 

“You know what Jessica, the first thing I'm gonna do when we get back is put all my effort into getting your father fired. If he’s not going to secure his credentials, he has no business in the position that he’s in.”

“Why are you always threatening my father’s job?”

“Why are you always sticking your nose in other people’s business?”

“Look, I looked at your file before I came to HQ, back when I was still obsessed with you or whatever. After that day you chewed me out about looking at Y/N’s medical records, I haven’t used my father's credentials to access anything since.”

“So you did access her medical records. I fucking knew it.” He shook his head a smirk coming to his face, “You know, you all think because I’m older and not up on whatever the latest dumbass trend is that you're smarter than me, that you can run one past “Old Commander Reyes”. There’s something to be said for wisdom and experience and I’ve seen everything, I’ve done everything, and I know everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything. There’s literally nothing any of you can do that will surprise me because I know what you idiot kids are thinking about doing before you even think it.”

“Hmm, guess you aren't as incompetent as you’ve been making yourself out to be.”

He looked at her a little taken aback, but as the moments passed his expression became resolved.

“You know what? You’re right. He paused. “Somewhere in all this, I've forgotten who I am."

"Well, who are you?" laughed Jessica, but Gabriel didn't look amused, he looked determined, his gaze steely. 

"I’m Gabriel motherfucking Reyes and I'm putting an end to this shit and getting my woman the fuck out of here as soon as possible."

He started to quickly get up. Jessica got up and got out the van so he could get out. He started to march back inside "Come with me!" he yelled. Jessica took off running after him. 

"McCree, Genji!" he yelled when he got to the back of the power plant. They came rushing over, Jessica catching up. "Scrap whatever plans we had before. We’ve got to do this quick and dirty and get the fuck out of dodge.”

"Annnd you need us to help you come up with a plan?" asked Jesse. 

"I already have a plan," said Gabriel. "What I need you all to do is shut up, listen, and do exactly as I say." 

“Whoo! The old Reyes is back!,” cheered Jesse, “Let's do this!”

The next day Gabriel stuck around long enough to watch Vincenzo give you a tour of his villa, which would come in handy when they put his plan in motion.

He watched as Vincenzo kept you from looking into the storage room. He didn't buy Vincenzo’s flimsy explanation either and when you sat there watching Vincenzo go up the stairs, he realized what you were about to do. 

"That's my smart girl. Go check out that room, baby."

He was slightly disappointed it was locked but he was proud of you for thinking to check. He thought you seemed more clear headed today, which was good, because he was going to need you to keep your thinking straight if his plan was going to work out the way he wanted.

He had to go meet his contact who was providing the virus usb and some other things integral to his plan. He'd be gone most of the day and he texted you to let you know. 

G: I’ll be MIA today. Jessica’s watching. McCree and Genji on standby if there's trouble. Meet tomorrow morning, under the bridge. Make an excuse to get away.

G: Love you.


	19. Lilah

That evening, you got ready to go to Vincenzo’s cousin's party.

You dressed in the dark red bandage dress Vincenzo had bought you on your shopping trip and a pair of black stilettos with swarovski encrusted heels. You had on the charm bracelet he gave you and the lens cam and mic necklace. You were in the bathroom putting on perfume when Vincenzo came into your room. 

He was dressed in a tailored black suit with an almost fleur de lis pattern embossed into the jacket, his hair half up, a black watch with a large face adorning his wrist. 

“Angelica,” he called out to you and you came out the bathroom.

He was holding a velvet jewelry box in his hand, much like the one the bracelet had been in, but it was larger. He took you in.

“Stunning.”

You smiled. “This was the first thing I tried on for you, remember?”

“And you take my breath away everytime I see you in it.” your cheeks heated as you averted his gaze, looking at his hands.

“What’s that?”

“I want you to wear something for me.”

He opened the box and turned it, presenting it to you. Inside was a choker that consisted of a row of rubies sandwiched between two rows of black diamonds. It was attached to a black ribbon that had to be tied in order to secure it. It was like nothing you had ever seen before.

“It's beautiful Vincenzo,” you said in awe.

“Turn around.” He took the choker out the box and tossed the box onto the bed.

You turned and Vincenzo undid the clasp on the mic necklace, pulling it into his hand and handing it to you. He then brought the choker over your head and secured it to your neck, tying the ribbon into a neat bow. When he finished, you walked into the bathroom together to look at it in the mirror.

He stood behind you, lifting your hair up as you turned your head left and right, looking at the choker as you gently touched it with your fingers. 

"It's like it was made for you. Like your neck was always its rightful place," he said, letting your hair go. "Are you ready to go?" 

"Almost. Give me a couple more minutes." He kissed your neck. 

"I'll be waiting downstairs."

When he left the room you went and got your phone and went back into the bathroom closing the door behind you. You texted Jessica. 

Y/I: What do I do? I can't wear the mic.

J: Just the camera should be ok. Keep your phone on you just in case. 

Y/I: Ok. Gabe back yet?

J: Not yet. 

You deleted the messages like you had been doing throughout this mission. You left the bathroom and tucked it into a clutch bag then made your way downstairs. 

You and Vincenzo got into another one of his many cars, a sleek little two-seater and he drove to his cousins place. 

Matteo lived in a penthouse in the middle of Milan. When he opened the door, music came blaring out of it and he was all smiles as he hugged and kissed you both and ushered you in. The party was well underway and the penthouse was full of people dressed in their finery drinking champagne, eating the catered spread that had been provided, talking and laughing amongst each other, some even dancing. 

Vincenzo held you to him around your waist as you entered the main room of the penthouse, Matteo announcing his arrival in italian. At least that's what you figured he did, because soon after, people were shouting "Hey!" joyously, coming over to greet Vincenzo with hugs and kisses. He introduced you to everyone and they were just as welcoming to you, kissing your cheeks and giving you hugs like you were an old friend. The only one not happy with your presence was Enzio. 

A lot of the people in attendance were family to Vincenzo and Matteo; cousins, aunts, and uncles the rest were mutual friends. Soon, you both were handed drinks and you found a place to sit on a sectional. His arm and hand had yet to leave your waist and when you sat, he pulled you closer, pressing kisses to your cheek. 

"I can't get over how beautiful you look tonight. Every man in this room has their eyes on you and I just want to take you back home so I can have you to myself." he said into your ear. You giggled as he kissed down your jaw to your neck tickling you some. 

"I knew it." You both looked up and there was an older woman, with long black hair, standing there in a tight but tasteful long sleeved cheetah print sweater dress that hit at her knees. She was holding two plates in her hand. 

Vincenzo stood setting his champagne glass down on an end table, taking the plates from her, then kissing both her cheeks as he greeted her. 

He turned to you. 

"Angelica, this is my aunt Sofia. She's like a second mother to me. When my mother died, she and my uncle Amerigo, took me in and cared for me like their own."

You stood holding out your hand, she took it clasping it into her own. 

"It's nice to meet you." you said. 

"Lovely to meet you too darling." She gestured for both of you to sit. You both sat down and Vincenzo handed you one of the plates of little appetizers. Sofia sat in front of you both on the coffee table. 

She smiled at Vincenzo. 

"Amerigo keeps asking why you haven't been by lately. I told him there must be a pretty new girl in your life. I see I was right."

"Is he coming?" Vincenzo asked. She shook her head. 

"He says he's too old for Matteo's wild parties." Vincenzo smiled. 

"I have a houseguest at the moment. Tell him I'll stop by after she leaves." he said. 

She gave a sly smile before she stood. 

"I'm surprised you two made it out tonight. Make sure to eat between rounds, keep your energy up."

Vincenzo laughed and you smiled as she walked away.

"We should take her advice," he said, "I was thinking tonight."

"I bet you were."

He leaned in and kissed under your jaw. 

"You don't agree?" You shook your head. "How do you do it Angelica? Remain so calm. I feel like if I can't have you, I'll die."

You shrugged with a smile. 

"I heard you pleasuring yourself last night." he said. You looked at him like you had been caught, cheeks on fire. "Is that it? You don't think I can do better than your fingers? You don't think I could fuck you better than you can fuck yourself?" You continued to look at him, saying nothing. "I can assure you I'd make your pleasure my priority. I wouldn't stop until you were thoroughly satisfied."

You looked away from him, hoping you didn't burst into flames right there on the couch. He grabbed your chin and turned you towards himself, looking into your eyes. 

"I've made a decision. I'm going to stop trying to persuade you. I'm just going to be my regular charming self and when you want me, you'll have to come to me. Ask me. Beg Me. I won't touch you again like I did last night until you do," you smirked. 

"You promise?"

"I swear," he pecked your mouth, "I will keep kissing you though, because your lips are perfect and I can't help myself." You smiled. 

You both sat there eating your little appetizers and drinking your champagne when a song came on that Vincenzo knew. He took your plates and set them down, then stood, holding out his hand to you. 

"Dance with me," he said. 

You smiled placing your hand in his. You let him pull you up and lead you to the area the other party goers had designated as the dance floor. The song was slow and you wrapped your arms around him as he wrapped his around your waist, holding each other close as you moved to the beat of the song. 

Suddenly his hands were slipping lower and lower until they were on your ass. 

"You promised," you said, not pulling away from him. 

"Sorry, sorry," he said with a laugh, quickly moving his hands back up to your lower back. "I didn't realize how hard this would be." He leaned down and placed a kiss near your neck. "Touching you is a luxury. You don't know how good you feel pressed against me like this. What I'd give to stay just like this with you." 

You smiled and closed your eyes as you laid against him moving to the music. He grabbed your hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of your palm before he placed it on his cheek. 

"Thank you Angelica, for being there for me last night."

You pulled back some and looked at him. 

"Anytime," you said. 

He looked at you for a moment. 

"Why do you make me feel so good, la mia stella? It's the last thing I expected."

"What did you expect?" you asked. 

"Nothing that comes close to how wonderful you actually are."

You felt your stomach flutter as Vincenzo put his hand on your cheek and leaned in for a slow, passionate kiss which you returned. 

Suddenly you felt a presence near the both of you. 

"Vincenzo," said a woman's shaky voice. 

You both broke your kiss and looked in the direction of the voice. 

"Lilah?" Vincenzo said in surprise, "What are you doing here?" 

Lilah was Vincenzo’s model ex-girlfriend. You had seen her grace the covers of magazines and billboards, had seen her in advertisements on TV looking gorgeous and glamorous. But the woman that stood before you was a far cry from that. The woman who stood before you looked gaunt and sickly, her skin a tinge of yellow. Her blonde hair was greasy and stringy-looking and her eyes were sunken in with dark shadows under them. She wore a dress with spaghetti straps but her near-skeletal frame was barely keeping the straps on. She looked strung out, like she was in withdrawal from some drug, and she sort of rocked as she stood there unable to stand still. 

_What happened to her?_ you thought.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Vincenzo. 

"Enzio told me, now please, please talk to me," she said, her voice insistent. 

You and Vincenzo were still holding onto each other but she seemed not to even register your presence. You let him go. 

"I'm going to the restroom," you said, he looked at you then nodded, and you turned and walked away to give them some privacy. 

You stopped someone along the way so they could point you in the direction of the bathroom and when you got in there, you had to open the door and walk out, then walk back in again to make sure you were in the same dimension. The entire bathroom was red and gold, walls fixtures and all. You looked around a bit in awe and shock before you finally went about relieving yourself and washing your hands. 

Suddenly the door started to open and someone tried to come in. 

"I'm almost done." you said as you dried your hands. 

But they continued to enter and close the door behind themselves once they were inside, trapping you with them. It was Lilah. She stared at you. 

"Are you sleeping with him?" she asked. 

"What?" 

"How long did you hold out? Did you make it through the first dinner? Has he taken you shopping? Did you fuck him there? I know I did. A man spends that kind of money on you, you'd be a fool not to." 

You looked at her, not really sure what to say. But you gathered from her questions that the treatment you had received early on from Vincenzo was a calculated part of his MO with women and you were surprised that it stung a bit because he had made you feel special. 

"Who are you to him?" she asked. 

"I'm no one." You took a breath, "Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you and I really don't want-"

"If I were you I'd get as far away from him as you can. Sure he's attractive and he's charming and he's generous, but there's another side to him, an ugly side. A side he only shows when he really trusts you. I'm warning you, don't stick around that long. He'll destroy you, like he's destroyed me."

A chill went up your spine. She quickly turned around and opened the door. 

"Lilah wait!" you called, you wanted her to elaborate, but she left as if she didn't hear you. 

You followed after her out of the bathroom and when you looked down the hall she was well ahead of you, rushing toward Vincenzo, whose back was to you both. You noticed she had something in her hand and when you realized what it was, you went charging after her kicking off your shoes as you went. 

Lilah was almost directly behind Vincenzo and she lifted her arm, gripping a knife tightly. She screamed as she swiftly swung down about to plunge it into Vincenzo’s back. 

Suddenly the world went still. 

"Let go of the knife Lilah!" you said, panting. 

Everyone in the room was now looking at you holding Lilah back, your arm wrapped around her as your hand gripped her wrist tightly, keeping her from plunging in the knife she was holding just inches from the back of Vincenzo’s neck. There was gasping and murmering from the party goers. 

Vincenzo had swiftly turned around, realizing what had almost happened, shock on his face. 

"Let it go," you repeated. 

She dropped it and it hit the floor with a thud. She then crumpled as her legs gave out from under her. You kept as firm a grip on her as you could, her slight frame pulling you down, as you lowered her to the ground kneeling behind her. 

She was shaking and sobbing hysterically now and she looked up at Vincenzo who was still in shock. 

"This is what you made me!" she screamed, "You did this to me! I hate you Vincenzo! You ruined my life! I hate you!" 

Vincenzo seemed to snap out of his stupor and he looked to Enzio. 

"Get her out of here, now! Take her home!" 

Enzio jumped into gear, rushing forward to pick Lilah up off the ground. 

"You told her I was here?" asked Vincenzo to Enzio, "What the hell were you thinking!?" he shouted. 

Enzio remained silent as he turned and carried a sobbing Lilah out of the penthouse. 

You were still kneeling on the ground, adrenaline coursing through you as you breathed heavily. Sofia came and knelt down with you putting her hand on your back and you jumped. She set your shoes down in front of you. 

"Are you ok sweetie?" she asked, rubbing your back. This snapped Vincenzo’s attention to you and he quickly knelt down in front of you, grabbing your hands into his, kissing them. 

"You saved me Angelica," he said between kisses. He touched his hand to your cheek and you jumped. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I…I think so," you said, but you felt disturbed by what had just happened and you started to shake as the adrenaline ran its course. 

"Take her home Vincenzo." said Sofia, I think she's had too much activity for one night." 

He nodded. Then scooped you up bridal style. Sofia put your shoes on his fingers and you wrapped your arms around him as he carried you down to the car. 

He got you strapped in. Then got in himself and peeled off. He grabbed your hand holding it as he drove, stroking it with his thumb. 

When he got back to the villa, he parked in front and carried you through the front door to the sitting area, laying you down on the couch. He knelt on the floor next to you. 

"Are you ok?" he asked. You nodded. "Are you sure?" 

"Vincenzo, what was Lilah talking about? What did you do to her? Why does she look like that?" 

He sighed, touching your cheek, "Angelica-" 

"No," you said, pulling his hand from your face sitting up. "What did you do to her Vincenzo?" He just kept looking at you. "Did you get her hooked on drugs, is that what you did?" 

"Angelica-" 

"Tell me Vincenzo," you raised your voice. He still sat there looking at you. 

"I didn't get her hooked on drugs. I don't do drugs and I would never date anyone who did." 

You took a deep breath. 

"Why did she look like that? Strung out?" 

"She hasn’t taken our break up well."

You rolled your eyes, his simple explanation sounding like a cop out to you.

"That's the truth,” he said, voice insistent. “When I called things off she was healthy, beautiful. But I kept hearing later on that she wasn't doing well, that she was taking it hard, that she was acting out, hanging with the wrong sorts of people. There's been gossip, but I didn't know what to believe, not until tonight."

He paused taking your hand into his. 

"She came to the party to ask me for money. Obviously she's not working right now. Seeing her like that, I wasn't going to give her cash to go buy God knows what. I offered to pay her rent, buy her groceries, get her caught up on her bills. Get her some help. She got angry with me. I thought she had stormed out. Apparently not."

You looked at him in his eyes. They looked sincere but something in you wasn't sure. 

"Why did you break up with her?" 

He sighed then he got up and sat next to you on the couch, taking your hand back into his.

"Lilah was my longest relationship. That's probably what I get for dating models in the first place, but she was different from the others. She was more than just her looks. She didn't get that glazed over look in her eyes when I talked to her. She was interesting and had things to say. Her personality didn't revolve around just sitting there and looking pretty and I fell for her, hard. We were together for a year and the beginning of our relationship was bliss, but it quickly went downhill after that."

"Why?" you asked.

“She couldn’t give me what I needed,” he replied.

“What was that?”

"Support, understanding, comfort." he sighed, "I told you about my beginnings, you've seen how it still affects me. You don't judge me because I struggle with those things. But Lilah. To her I'm weak, I'm not a real man. I thought I could be open with her, but she lost respect for me instead. She literally told me to keep my ugliness to myself and for her, that’s what I tried to do. But I was so unhappy. So I left and all the perks of being with me left with me.”

“What do you mean?”

"I gave her the best of everything. She never wanted for a thing. She enjoyed spending my money, enjoyed taking her girlfriends on exotic trips on my jets, throwing wild parties on my yacht. She enjoyed the benefits that proximity to me afforded her. Everyone knew she was mine and they treated her like royalty because of it. Doors that were once closed to her opened, social circles she could only dream of circulating in were now clamoring for her attention. I didn't mind any of it, if that's what mattered to her. I would have given her anything.”

He went silent for a moment then continued.

“I warned her about getting caught up in the lifestyle, that it was fleeting, that all these people vying for her attention weren't being genuine. She was the toast of the town, then I left her, and suddenly people weren’t so quick to answer her calls, places where she was once welcomed act as if they don't know her, her friend circle has gotten much much smaller.” He sighed, “Realizing I was right, has obviously been a hard pill to swallow.” he paused. “When she says I did that to her, made her what she is, she's right. I introduced her to all of this. I gave her unfettered access to my money and status and all the benefits it affords and then I let her crash and burn. I never wanted what she’s become for her and I probably should have reached out to her when I heard she wasn’t doing well, before she spiraled this far out of control. I was hurt and bitter and I thought I was better off just washing my hands of her despite what I was hearing. It's a poor excuse, a selfish excuse really and I feel responsible. So I can understand why she hates me, why she thinks I ruined her life, why she'd want me dead."

You sat there processing all he had told you. It was a while before you spoke.

“Then why do the same thing with me? Take me shopping, give me all this stuff, try to buy your way into my pants?” He huffed a laugh. “I assumed I was special to you somehow. To find out that’s just par for the course, kind of hurts, so 'ouch' for that, but also weren't you worried I’d take advantage like she did?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You think the things I’ve given you are nice. But I can tell, all these gifts make you genuinely uncomfortable. You take them to be polite,” he grabbed your wrist holding up the bracelet,” You wear them to show appreciation.” He placed his hand on your cheek stroking it with his thumb, “But I know if I never bought you anything, you’d still be here with me.” he smiled. “Although, I will say you seemed really comfortable taking that Dracon bag.” 

“You damn right. I wasn’t gonna turn that down. What kind of idiot do you think I am?” you both laughed. He kissed your hand.

“Angelica, you are special to me. I tend to lead with money and sex because that seems to be all women want from me. Wanting more than that always seemed like I was asking too much and after Lilah I was starting to believe it. But none of those things seem to phase you and I’ve been able to be more open with you than I’ve ever been with anybody...thank you for that.” You smiled looking down. You both went silent for a moment.

“This night has been crazy.” you said, he nodded in agreement. “I’m exhausted, but I expected you to be a little more freaked out about Lilah trying to kill you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first attempt on my life, probably won’t be the last,” he stood. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.” 

You held hands as he led you up the stairs and to the door to your room. He kissed your hand as you both stood there, him looking at you fondly.

“Good night.” you said.

“I’ll come find you in your dreams.” you smiled.

“Oh,” you reached behind your neck and untied the choker, handing it to him. 

“Keep it. I know it makes you uncomfortable, but it looks so good on you, I want you to have it.” You nodded. “Go get some rest.” You turned and went in your room and closed the door.

**************************************************************************************************************************************  
Reader, you are now at a crossroads.

If you would like to continue on in your mission and your relationship with Gabriel, continue reading after this break.

However, if you're intrigued by our mob underboss and would like to see where things go with him [**Click Here**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831419)  
**************************************************************************************************************************************

As you got ready for bed, you thought about the events of that night and about Vincenzo’s explanation for Lilah’s behavior. It came across as plausible, but given Lilah’s warning there was a part of you that just wasn’t sure. Then, there was another part that desperately wanted to believe him, that wanted to give into his charm, and his sweet words, fond looks, and affection. It was that part that was keeping you awake right now as you laid in bed, urging you to get up and go get in bed with Vincenzo.

“Shut up Angelica,” you said to yourself as you turned on your side and closed your eyes, eventually falling asleep.


	20. Crocodile Tears

The next morning you got dressed in a skirt with flowy fabric that hit at the knee and a t-shirt and went downstairs. Vincenzo was in the kitchen talking to his chef, who was putting groceries away.

“Vincenzo?” you said. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” you waved him over to you and he nodded, coming to where you stood, off to the side.

“What do you need sweet Angelica?” he said with a smile, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Um, this is a little TMI but...um, I think my monthly cycle is starting and I need supplies.”

His eyebrows rose in understanding.

“I can have someone pick up whatever you need and bring it here.” You shook your head.

“I’d prefer to get it on my own...if that’s ok?”

“Of course it’s ok” he walked over to the island and picked up a set of keys. “Here, take the convertible.” He brought them over and handed them to you. “Do you need money?” You huffed a laugh.

“No Vincenzo, I’ve got it.” He put his hand on the back of your head and stroked your hair. 

“Ok, well take your time, enjoy the ride.” He kissed your forehead again. 

"Thanks. I will."

You made your way down to the garage and got into the convertible. You pressed a button to open the garage door and you took off to go meet Gabriel. You parked at a drugstore and went in, bought some tampons you were never going to use, then left out the back and carefully made your way to the bridge on foot. 

You don’t know why, but when you saw Gabriel standing in the distance waiting for you, you got butterflies in your stomach. You hadn’t seen him in days and you realized you missed his face. Then everything you had done over the past couple days with Vincenzo came back to you and you instantly felt ashamed. 

He turned to face you as you came to stand in front of him and you set your bag with the tampons in it on the ground. 

You looked at each other for a few minutes then he reached out and touched your cheek and you closed your eyes leaning into his touch, feeling tears come to your eyes. He pulled you to himself and wrapped his arms around you kissing the top of your head as you wrapped your arms around him. Your tears spilled over your eyelashes and down your face. He exhaled in relief as he held you. Guilt prompted you to speak. 

"I've come so close to going too far with Vincenzo. Sometimes I don't even know who's in the driver's seat anymore, me or Angelica. I feel so torn. I-."

“Shhhh," he hushed you rubbing your back. "I’m getting you out of there baby, first thing tomorrow morning, we’re going home.”

“We are? But I thought-”

“Plans have changed. I need to get you out. I don’t like what all this is doing to you,” he said rubbing your back. “I need you to do something in the meantime.” He let you go and reached into his pocket pulling out the usb. “I need you to plug this into Vincenzo’s computer, today. It's a short window of time, but that’s all we have.” You took it nodding, “Make up an excuse to leave tomorrow, a death in the family, your apartment flooding, anything. We’ll burn your cover and get the hell out of here.”

“Wait, so you’re not killing Vincenzo?” he shook his head.

“Getting the stuff on his computer, shutting down his trafficking ring and other ventures, and seeing him rot in prison is enough vengeance for me and we honor Tony by finishing what he died trying to do. Everyone wins.”

You nodded. He grabbed your cheeks looking at you. 

"I'm so sorry I asked this of you, that I put you in this position, but it's almost over Y/N. I promise." He kissed your lips slow and sweet. "Be strong for me baby, can you do that?" 

"Yes….Gabriel I'm sorry too, I-."

"I don't care about you and Vincenzo, I don't care about any of that. All I care about is getting you home. You hear me?" 

He pulled you back to him and held you tight, hands caressing your back. 

"Gabriel."

"Yeah."

"I've made a couple observations while I've been there."

"Like what?" he said, continuing to hold you. 

"Like where is his security? You said he's always guarded, where are they? I've never seen them."

"I've noticed that too and you’re right, it's strange."

"I met his ex-girlfriend yesterday. She warned me that he'd destroy me."

"He'll be in prison before that ever happens." You nodded. He took a deep breath, "I have to get back, finish preparing."

He pulled back from you looking at you again. 

"I love you Y/N."

"I love you too."

He smiled a bit. Every other time you had said those words he could tell it was just out of habit that there were no feelings for him behind it. But this time he saw much more of that spark you used to get for him and something in him felt like for once he was doing the right thing. He pecked your lips then let you go and you made your way back to the drugstore and got back in the car and left. 

When you entered the villa you heard yelling in a mixture of english and italian. 

"Incompetent! All of you! And now I have to clean up your fucking mess!" 

You made your way inside to the kitchen and saw Vincenzo standing at his dining room table as Enzio and a few other men sat. Vincenzo was the one yelling, slamming his fist on the glass table and when he saw you come into the room he switched to yelling in italian exclusively. You went to the island and set down the keys and your bag. Then you made your way around the corner and down the hall. 

You acted like you were going to the courtyard but you quickly turned in the opposite direction heading into Vincenzo’s office. You figured now was as good a time as any to plug in the usb while Vincenzo was occupied. You could still hear his yelling. 

You went to his desk and walked around it. The laptop was open and when you moved the mouse attached to it, the screen came to life. You quickly took the usb and stuck it into the side and a progress bar appeared on the screen to show the virus was installing. It was moving at a good pace and would be finished pretty soon. 

In the meantime, you looked around a bit. There were shelves to your right with books and pictures on them. You noticed a black humidor on one of the shelves and you opened it to a row of expensive cigars. You pulled one out and sniffed it enjoying its peppery tobacco scent. 

You closed the box and went back to the laptop to check the progress of the installation. It had completed. You quickly snatched the usb out. 

"What are you doing in here!?" 

Your head snapped up and there was Enzio quickly coming towards you. You came from around the desk clutching the usb in your fist. As soon as you were in front of the desk, Enzio was on you, pushing your shoulders into the wall as he glowered at you, getting in your face as he trapped you against the wall.

"I asked you a question. What the hell are you doing in here?!" He looked down to your closed fist. "What's in your hand?"

"Nothing," you responded. 

"Show me what's in your hand!"

"I don't have anything!" you shouted back. 

"I knew you weren't to be trusted. You treacherous bitch. Show me what's in your fucking hand!" 

He raised his hand up swiftly about to backhand you across the face and you closed your eyes, turning to the side, wincing, bracing for the blow. 

"What the hell is going on in here!?" you heard Vincenzo yell. 

You opened your eyes and he was standing there holding Enzio's wrist. He had stopped Enzio's hand mere inches from your face. 

"I found her in your office. She has no business being in here." said Enzio, narrowing his eyes at you. 

"She can go wherever she wants," retorted Vincenzo. Enzio looked at him taken aback, like he expected Vincenzo to be on his side. 

"She's hiding something. She has something in her hand."

Vincenzo looked at you, then at your balled fist. 

"Angelica, what do you have?" 

Your eyes darted frantically between both men as you kept silent.

"La mia stella, show me what's in your hand." Vincenzo said more forcefully. 

You took a deep breath and held your hand out and opened it. Inside was the cigar. While Enzio and Vincenzo had been talking, you'd slipped the usb into the pocket of your skirt that was hidden by the flowy fabric. 

"I…I…" you burst into tears speaking rapidly, "I heard you yelling and you said smoking relaxes you. I just wanted you to feel relaxed," you cried, big tears falling down your face. 

"Aww my little rabbit, come here," Vincenzo held his arms open and you walked into them crying into his chest. He put his hand on the back of your head stroking your hair to comfort you. "See Enzio, she just wanted me to relax." 

You looked up at him, tears still falling from your eyes. 

"He's so mean to me. He doesn't like me. You saw him, he wants to hurt me," you cried harder, pressing your face back into his chest. 

“You can’t really believe this act. She’s not to be trusted.,” said Enzio, beyond frustrated.

You looked up at Vincenzo again.

“You see what I mean,” you cried. “He scares me, Vincenzo.”

Vincenzo wrapped his arm around you as he turned you both, holding you to him as he led you out the room and into the hall. A seething Enzio following behind. 

"Don't be frightened my angel,” said Vincenzo, “He shouldn't be so rough with my pretty things. Which is why Enzio is leaving."

You were now back in the kitchen/dining room area. 

"Vincenzo!" exclaimed Enzio in protest. Vincenzo stopped, still holding you, rubbing your back as you laid against him, your crying calmed to intermittent sniffs.

"Out Enzio!" he shouted then he turned to the men still sitting at the dining table. "All of you! Get the fuck out of my house!" 

The men got up and started to leave. As Enzio left he looked back at you and you smirked as he glared at you, while you continued to lay against Vincenzo, who was now pressing kisses to your forehead. 

Vincenzo grabbed your face in both hands, lifting your head, kissing both your cheeks. 

"No ones ever going to treat you like that again, not if I have anything to do with it." he kissed your cheeks again, "No more tears on this pretty face." You nodded holding his wrists. "It's a nice day. Shall we go for a swim?" You nodded again, a small smile coming to your face. He smiled back. "Go get dressed, I'll meet you out there."

"Ok." 

You turned from him as he let you go, heading for the stairs and you took a relieved breath as you began to climb. 

Gabriel had only just gotten back to the safehouse when one of the laptops chimed an alert that data was incoming. 

Gabriel smiled. He realized you had come through, and quick too. As much as he worried about you, you still found ways to amaze him. He couldn't help how proud he felt but he didn't have time to dwell on it. 

"Everyone, grab a laptop, let's start sorting through these files from Vincenzo's computer."

You were now out in the pool in a black one piece swimsuit that had the sides cut out so the skin of your torso was exposed and a pair of sunglasses. 

You were at the back of the pool, arms rested on the tiled edge, chin rested on your arms, relaxing. Vincenzo had yet to come out to join you and you figured he got busy with something. 

Suddenly there was a splash behind you like someone had jumped in. You didn't turn around. Moments later, Vincenzo was coming out the water behind you, pressing himself to you as he placed his hands on either side of your arms on the tile. 

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked before pressing a kiss to your cheek

"Mmm hmm." 

"Lean back."

"Huh?"

"Lean back, I got you."

You lifted your head up and looked behind yourself. Vincenzo was standing to the side of you, arms ready to hold you as you leaned back into them. You did as he requested, laying back in the water. You put your arm around his back as he cradled you, gliding you through the water while he walked around the pool. 

"This is nice." you said. He smiled down at you as he moved around in a circle.

You started to relax your arm around him and your hand slid lower on him involuntarily. Suddenly you shot up, hopping out of his arms onto your feet, looking at him like he was crazy.

“Did I just touch your bare ass?” He smirked. “Are you naked?! Why are you naked?!”

“It’s my pool.” You looked at him, mouth wide open, dumbfounded, scandalized, and speechless. “You’ve never skinny dipped before?”

You kept looking at him. He started moving toward you with a large grin on his face.

“Come, let me hold you.” 

“No,” you started backing up, “Keep your penis away from me.” You turned around moving as quick as you could in the water as he followed you.

“Don’t be this way Angelica. He just wants to say hello.”

“I don’t wanna.” you called back, making him chuckle. 

You started to swim away, but clearly not fast enough because Vincenzo was suddenly grabbing you around the waist, lifting you out the water, your back to his chest as you shrieked with laughter. He twisted to one side, “No, no, no,” you screamed, before he tossed you in the other direction.

He moved over to where you landed and you burst out of the water behind him, jumping on his back, wrapping your arms around him.

“My sunglasses, you jackass!” you shouted, they were no longer on your face. 

He grabbed your legs and started turning left to right rapidly, swinging you side to side as you held onto him for dear life screaming with laughter the entire time. He eventually stopped and you got off him still giggling a little. 

He turned around, an amused smile on his face. You threw your arms around his neck and he leaned down pecking your lips as he pulled you to him. Then his hands were on your thighs, lifting your legs and you wrapped them around him. 

You looked at each other fondly. 

"I have fun with you," he said. 

"I have fun with you," you replied. 

He kissed your lips. 

"I think I'm falling in love with you," he said. You blinked, surprised. "I hope that doesn't frighten you, the thought of being possessed by the devil. But I get the feeling you could love me regardless."

You were speechless, but a voice within you said, " _I could_."

You looked at each other for a moment when suddenly, Vincenzo’s phone started to ring from inside the pocket of his pants that he had left on the ground in front of the pool.

"I have to get that," he said. 

You unwrapped your legs from around him and let him go and he made his way over to his pants to get his phone and answer. He talked as he made his way to the stairs to get out and you watched as he did, taking in his muscular back and perfect ass, the backs of his strong, powerful legs. 

"Hold on," he said, turning around to you, seemingly unaware or more likely, not even caring that he was giving you a full frontal view of himself. Your eyes went where anyone's would go in a situation like this, straight to his dick, which was only semi-hard at the moment but quite substantial in size even for that. You shuddered to think how big he was at full mast. "Business to attend to. Continue to enjoy the pool without me." You didn't answer. He smirked. "I'm up here, Angelica."

"Huh," you snapped your gaze up to his face. "Uh, yeah…yeah ok." he chuckled a bit before he put the phone back to his ear and made his way inside. 

You stayed in and by the pool for an hour or so before you toweled off, wrapped a sarong around your waist, and made your way back inside. It was quiet, too quiet. Suddenly you heard a noise coming from down the hall where Vincenzo’s office was and you went toward it. 

"Vincenzo," you called. No answer. 

You got to the office, no one was inside. You heard the noise again but realized it was coming from downstairs and you followed it. When you got to the bottom of the stairs you heard noise again but louder. It was coming from the storage room. 

You went to the door and put your hand on the knob and turned it. This time it wasn't locked. You slowly pushed the door open. 

Gabriel had been sitting in the van, keeping an eye on you on the monitors, but not really paying attention. He had seen you get in the pool, but had immersed himself into pouring over Vincenzo's files. He finally glanced up as you made your way inside the villa. 

Suddenly Genji yanked open the back door, holding a laptop in his hand. 

"Commander, you need to see this," Genji said, voice frantic. 

Gabriel took the laptop from him and sat it in his lap, looking at the screen. His eyes went wide and panic shot through him as he rapidly pressed the down arrow to scroll. 

"Shit!" Gabriel said to himself. He kept scrolling as he talked , "Tell everyone to gear up, we have to get Y/N out of there tonight." 

Genji nodded and was turning to leave when a loud blood-curdling scream came out of the speakers. Your scream.


	21. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood and Gore

When you opened the door to the storage room what you saw inside, was in fact, a room with concrete walls and a tile floor with a drain in the middle of it. 

A man was strapped down to some kind of medical bed and was screaming in agony as Vincenzo stood there, his back to you, a tray of metal tools on a metal medical cart next to him. He was dressed and had what you figured was some kind of apron tied to him. He was clearly doing something to the man to cause him pain but you couldn't see what. All you could hear was the screams and all you could see was the man twitching and shaking in his pain and blood dripping to the floor. 

There were two other larger men in the room observing, their backs also to you. 

You tried not to, but you gasped, loudly enough for everyone to turn in your direction. Vincenzo looked at you holding up some bloody instrument in his bloody hand.

You turned and bolted, heading back for the stairs. 

"Bring her back," Vincenzo said, coolly. 

The two large men turned and went after you. 

You were halfway up the stairs when large hands grabbed you. You let out a blood curdling scream. Large arms wrapped around you in a bear hug keeping you from struggling as much as they lifted you and took you back down the stairs. You kicked and screamed, that's all you could do as you were brought back into the room. 

The man continued to hold you as Vincenzo came toward you looking in your eyes, his expression unreadable. You started to struggle more the closer he got but it was futile and he was now in front of you. 

"Please Vincenzo," you pleaded, tears falling from your eyes, "I won't tell anyone. I didn't see anything. Please don't kill me, please!" 

He put his bloody hand on your cheek and you stilled. 

"Shhhh, quiet la mia stella. I won't hurt you. I'd never hurt you." You were trembling now, breaths coming out quick and sharp. "I'm going to tell him to let you go and you must promise you won't try to run. Do you promise?" you nodded, tears spilling over your eyelashes. "Let her go." The man released you and backed up to stand in front of the door, trapping you inside. 

You stood there looking at Vincenzo. He kept looking at you fondly, his bloody hand still holding your cheek, stroking it now. 

"I meant for you to find out about all this later on. But now is as good a time as any." His hand left your cheek and took yours. "First I need to tell you something." He paused, kissing your hand. "I told you about my mother, how she died, but the story doesn't end there."

You looked at him sniffling now as you continued to cry, fear coursing through you as he held onto your hand, intertwining your fingers. 

"The day I found my mother, my father went out and I began to prepare. I took my mother's body to the basement, wrapped her up, then I went upstairs to his room, found the shaving blade and began to sharpen it. He came home in the evening, wanting wine, and I brought it to him, after I dosed it with a tranquilizer my mother used to sleep sometimes." 

He took a breath, coming closer to you and you backed up until you hit a wall. He lifted his hand and you flinched before he used his fingers to push wet strands of hair off your face. Looking at you lovingly. 

Your heart was pounding in your chest. 

_This can't be real_ you thought. _This isn't happening_

Your sarong had fallen off on the stairs and you stood there in your swimsuit. You were shaking, a mixture of fear, adrenaline, and cold from the air hitting your wet clothes and exposed skin. 

Vincenzo continued. 

"I waited for him to pass out, then dragged him into the room he had killed my mother in and tied him to a chair. Then I waited for him to wake." He. smiled. "He thought it was a joke, some kind of prank, he laughed and told me to untie him. He didn't take me seriously, not until I started to cut him with the shaving blade. The first cut wasn't deep or long, more like a nick really. It wasn't enough to scare him and he continued to laugh. When I cut him again he stopped laughing and started calling me names, his anger growing. I cut him again and again and again and pretty soon all he did was scream and beg me, much like my mother did when he relentlessly beat her. He never stopped because of her screaming and neither did I." 

A chill ran through you as you listened. 

"I must have cut him thousands of times. By the time I was done, he didn't have much skin left and I repaid the dignity he had given my mother in her death, I left him there to bleed out, to die." 

He leaned in and pecked your cheek and you clamped your eyes closed, turning your head from him, tears squeezing past your lashes. 

He pulled back looking at you grabbing your chin to turn you to face him. You slowly opened your eyes and he continued. 

"It took him three days to die. On the fourth day, my uncle Amerigo came looking for him and he found me sitting in front of his brother's corpse, my hands covered in his blood, his blade still in my hand. I eventually told him what had happened and what I had done. That's when he took me home with him, fed me, cleaned me up. He knew what my father was like and he felt guilty for not stepping in to stop him sooner. The least he could do for me at that point was give me a home."

He paused, smiling a bit to himself. 

"I had developed a taste for cutting. I used to satiate this need by cutting up the little animals around my uncle's house. Learning how to disable by cutting certain tendons, experimenting with the depth of my cuts, seeing which bled more or less. It was my secret hobby until Sofia's pomeranians went missing and he discovered them in the mass animal grave I had dug in the woods behind the house." He smiled and chuckled a bit, "Naturally, Sofia was afraid of me and she wanted me gone, but Amerigo believed my predilection for cutting could be channeled, controlled, and put to use. He sent me away to learn the art of torture and assassination. Five years later I came home and he put me to work carrying out hits for the family. I had over 100 kills under my belt by the time I turned 18. With my predilection under control, my uncle realized I had a mind for the family business and he began to teach me. By my 21st birthday I was made his right hand and I was known in all the families as the most vicious killer in all of Italy. My signature being cuts, knifework."

He put his hand back on your cheek making you jump. 

"I'm telling you all of this, my angel, because this is who I am. I want you to know all of me, see all that I am, good, bad, and ugly."

You looked at him still shaking, your tears stopped now. 

He suddenly grabbed you and pulled you to him and you began to struggle, pulling back, panic in your features. He grabbed you around your waist and turned you around, moving you over to where the man was strapped to the table. Chunks of his skin were missing on his chest and torso. He had been moaning in pain this whole time. His voice muffled by a ball gag that had been placed in his mouth. 

You continued to struggle, trying to pull away, but Vincenzo’s grip on you was tight as he held you in place. He reached around and grabbed your chin, holding your head against him. 

"Stop struggling. I won't hurt you. Be still!" 

You went still, your tears renewed. 

"Please Vincenzo, let me go, please." you cried. 

He leaned down and kissed your temple. 

"My little rabbit, I want to share this with you. I want to demonstrate my absolute trust in you." 

He let go of your face and reached to grab a scalpel from the tray of tools, handing it to you for you to take, but you wouldn't. 

"Take it Angelica," you frantically shook your head. "Take it."

He let go of your waist and grabbed your hand, prying it open, putting the scalpel in it, closing his hand around yours so you couldn't drop it. He grabbed you around the waist again and kissed your cheek. 

"I want you to do this with me," he whispered. You shook your head. 

"No, no!" 

He lowered your hands placing the scalpel against one side of the man's neck. He then put pressure on your hands cutting into the man's throat and he began to move your hand, cutting across it. Everything in you wanted to pull away, struggle, but you were paralyzed in your horror. 

You expected some sort of give, but the scalpel was so sharp it glided through the man's skin and the meat underneath it like butter. It was all so disturbingly easy. The man choked and gargled as Vincenzo continued to guide your hand, slitting his throat.

You were in shock, eyes wide open, not blinking, but tears fell from them all the same as you watched your hand being used to kill. 

Vincenzo held you to himself tightly, his hand splayed against your stomach. Despite his plastic apron, you could feel how hard he was against you, his cheek pressed to yours and had you been doing anything else together, anything other than ending a man's life, the scene almost would have been sensual, romantic. 

When the man had been cut from ear to ear, blood gushing from his wound, Vincenzo finally let you go and you backed away from him, the scalpel falling from your hand with a clang. You stood still staring off into nothing, eyes vacant, numb. He went to you, kissing your lips holding your stiff body in his arms. 

"There's no more pretense between us. We can be exactly who we are with each other now Y/N." he looked at one of the men "Help her to her room." He kissed you again. "I'll be up to check on you later."

One of the large men scooped you up and carried you out of the room and up the stairs. He took you to your room and laid you on the bed and then left. 

You laid there, your mind blank. You felt like you were looking through a tunnel, like the world had blacked out around the edges. You recognized that Vincenzo had been speaking to you before you were brought upstairs, but the words made no sense, all you heard was muffled gibberish. 

Suddenly bile rose up from your stomach and you bolted to the bathroom, lifting up the toilet seat so you could vomit. When you were done you went to the sink to rinse your mouth out and as you looked at you face in the mirror, you saw the bloody hand prints Vincenzo left behind. 

You began to frantically get water onto your hands and scrub at your face until it felt raw. You kept looking at the mirror, the blood was gone now but you kept scrubbing, feeling as if you'd never get clean again. 

Tears started to fall from your eyes and you sunk to the floor, wrapping your arms around your knees as you laid in the fetal position and sobbed. 

Gabriel had seen everything. He sat there frozen, panicked, heart in his throat, sick to his stomach, sure Vincenzo was about to kill you, knowing there was nothing he could do, no way he could get to you in time to stop it. 

Relief didn't come when Vincenzo vowed not to hurt you, because he had no clue what was coming next. He listened to Vincenzo’s convoluted story and when he dragged you to the medical bed he couldn't have fathomed what Vincenzo was about to make you do. 

Every profanity left his mouth as he watched Vincenzo use your hand to kill the man strapped to the bed. This was everything he had tried to protect you from amplified to a thousand and there was nothing he could do to shield you from it now. He watched you vomit, watched you lay on the floor sobbing, heard the anguish in your cries, his heart breaking for you, wanting so desperately to take away your pain, to erase the horror you had just experienced, to give you back the innocence that had just been so savagely snatched away. 

All he could do now was channel his hurt and his rage into action. He was coming to save you and he was coming for Vincenzo’s head and he wasn't going to stop until both ends had been achieved. 

At some point you had removed the lens cam and mic and had laid down on the bed. You laid on your side, your sobs now intermittent sniffles that racked your body. Suddenly, the bed dipped down as Vincenzo got in behind you, wrapping his arm around your waist. Something in you wanted to flinch at his touch but you didn't. 

He leaned down pushing your hair back and kissing your cheek. 

"La mia stella." he said softly. 

"Hmm," you answered. 

"Did I frighten you my angel?" 

You turned around onto your back looking at him. You placed your hand on his cheek and shook your head. 

"Do you hate me?" he asked, "Now that you know what I am. " 

"Never, I could never hate you," you answered. 

He put his hand over yours, turning his head to kiss the inside of your palm. 

You looked at him with your red, swollen eyes.

"Vincenzo, you did that with Lilah, didn't you?" you asked slowly. 

He took a breath and nodded. You figured as much as you had been laying there. Lilah might be on drugs but not for the shallow reason Vincenzo had given. Lilah was mentally disturbed, mentally broken you knew because that's how you felt right now. Out of your mind, deranged. She said he would destroy you and he had. You had no clue who you were right now or what to think or feel. 

"How many times?" you asked. 

"Lilah and I killed together several times. It bonded us for a while. We'd kill, then fuck for hours through the adrenaline rush, it was mind blowing. But at some point she started….coming apart at the seams and I knew she wasn't compatible with me, not like you."

You sat up and pressed your lips to his in a slow kiss, holding the nape of his neck. 

"I need you, I need to be in your arms. Will you stay with me tonight?" you asked. 

He smiled at you running the back of his finger over your cheek, then he nodded. 

"I'm going to shower and change. Will you come back in twenty minutes?" 

"I'll come back," he said. 

He pecked your lips then got up and left the room. 

You took a deep breath then got up and undressed taking off your swimsuit. You got in the shower and washed your body and hair, then got out. You dried off and put on lotion and a spritz of jasmine scented perfume. You dressed and put on a robe.

When Vincenzo came back he stood in the doorway, shirtless in a pair of sweatpants. 

"You ready for me?" he asked. You had been pulling back the covers on the bed and you turned to him and smiled. 

"More than ready," you said. 

You undid the loose tie on the red silk kimono and opened it, revealing the black lace lingerie you had on underneath. The lingerie he had bought you on your shopping trip. A slow grin came to his face as you sauntered over to him. 

You ran your hands up his bare torso to his chest then wrapped your arms around his neck. You looked at each other, your gazes heated. 

"I want this to bond us together too. Make love to me Vincenzo," you whispered. 

You pressed your lips to his and he grabbed your waist inside of the kimono and yanked you to himself, deepening the kiss as you lifted your leg, wrapping it around him. He ran his hand down your thigh and began to lift you up. You wrapped your other leg around him as he held your ass, moving into the room, your kiss becoming urgent, tongues everywhere as he moved to the bed. 

He climbed onto the bed with you, laying you on your back, laying between your legs, his hands beginning to roam your body over your lingerie as you kept your hands on his shoulders, and back. He kissed your neck and down your chest and you arched, moaning some before pulling him back up to your mouth. 

Suddenly he stopped, pulling back some, looking at you with so much love in his eyes, it almost rattled you. Especially because where you had your hands behind him, out of his sightline, you were doing your sleight of hand movements, moving the dagger you had had in your hand this entire time around so he never saw it. You were clutching it now, poised to swiftly lift it and plunge it into the back of his neck. 

You weren’t sure when you decided to kill Vincenzo. Somewhere between throwing up and him getting into the bed to check on you. You understood now, what Liliah had been saying. Vincenzo had done this to you like he had done to her, this is what he had made you. He had turned you into a killer. You realized now that Vincenzo was a monster in every sense of the word. Maybe Gabriel wanted you to help set Vincenzo up to die but he never would have put the gun in your hand and forced you to pull the trigger. He didn't even want you around when the deed was done, he wanted to protect your innocence. Vincenzo, on the other hand, had destroyed it in a most heinous and egregious way and you despised him for it. It was only fitting now that he die by your hand. It was only fitting that the killer he created be the one to take his life. 

You raised the dagger, about to stab Vincenzo, when he spoke. 

"I meant what I said. Let's both stop pretending and be honest with each other now," he brushed his fingers across your face, "I want you for who you are. I want Y/N, not Angelica."

Your eyes went wide and you realized that that was the second time you had heard him speak your real name.

He smiled a bit. "I know who you are Y/N. I've always known and I don't care."


	22. This is for Tony

You looked at Vincenzo, still holding the dagger ready to strike. You lifted it again, but he spoke again, laying his head down on your chest. You lowered your hand some so the dagger stayed out of his sight. 

"I'm not sure when I became obsessed with you. It probably started when I first saw your face,” he said, rubbing his hand up and down your side. "You don't know how long I sat day after day studying your pictures, learning your features. I wish I could thank Daniel for giving me your name."

You scrunched your face in confusion. He sat up some taking in your expression and smiled. 

"You remember Daniel, don't you? My associate your people tried to impersonate? He told me he had been approached by a man from some unknown organization looking to turn him against me. He went along with it, working with another operative, a friend of yours, helping him learn his mannerisms so he could impersonate him at a meet up with me. During one of their conversations, the young man let your name slip, not even aware he had done it. Daniel passed it along to me, hoping it would help us figure out what organization we were dealing with."

You repositioned your hand with the dagger, your arm over his shoulder and he turned his head to kiss it. You quickly grabbed his chin, turning him back so he wouldn't see the dagger, keeping his eyes on you, your thumb on his lips. He took it into his mouth and sucked, looking back at you, smiling, before he released it. 

"Everything about you is soft and beautiful just like I imagined. Had your friend, not made so many mistakes, I never would have found you. Did you know there are hundreds of Y/Ns in the world? Finding you with just your first name wasn't proving to be a fruitful endeavor. Until one day I got an alert your friend had posted a picture of you both to his fake social media page, the one that had him identified as Daniel. He quickly deleted it, probably realizing his error, but not before I saved a copy. I ran it through facial recognition," he huffed a laugh, "Your organization is very thorough. Your friend actually came up as Daniel Azucar, but I finally knew your true identity."

He ran a finger down your nose making you blink then stroked your cheek as he kept talking. 

"I scoured the web looking for any information I could find on you. There wasn't much. A few photos on social media. I assume you're a very private person. You don't post much about yourself online. I probably could have hired a hacker to dig up more but I didn't want to share you with anyone. I wanted you for myself."

This was probably the only time you ever felt grateful to Able. Had he not stalked you, you never would have gotten in the habit of being sparing and careful about the information you shared about yourself online. Even with Able out of the picture, it had felt weird to even have a social media page and to have up the few photos of yourself that you did. Tony had been the one to talk you into it and had helped you set it up. He was also the one to defend you when people teased you about how sparse your page was. God you missed Tony, but you couldn't think about that right now. 

"No one, not even Enzio knew what I was up to, he still doesn't. I sent him and my security away because I didn't think you'd feel free enough to be yourself and I so desperately wanted to know you."

_So that's where his security went_

"After I killed your friend, I knew someone from your organization would be coming after me for it. Then one day I got online to look at your pictures like I did everyday during that time and I couldn't find them. It's like you had vanished. I did a reverse search and I found them and some others that had been added under a new name, Angelica Roman, and that's when I knew they were sending you.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing and you continued to look at Vincenzo and listen in disbelief.

“When you showed up in my club, my initial plan was to seduce you, compromise you so that I could have you in my pocket and you could keep me apprised of any plans your organization had to move on me or my family. But I fell even harder for you instead."

You stared at him, realizing he clearly had the wrong idea about your role here. He looked you in your eyes, his gaze serious. 

"I don't care about your organization. I don't care about your job, about you being some operative. Leave them Y/N, stay with me, be with me, can't you see we belong together? That fate has brought us to one another? I need you. My heart beats for you. I love you."

You blinked, wheels in your head spinning, trying to focus. It occurred to you that if he knew who you were and you kept him alive, you could lead him back to Blackwatch, putting Gabriel and the agents that served under him in danger. Now you really had to kill Vincenzo, not just for yourself, but for them. 

You put your hand on his cheek, hoping your expression looked fond as you held his gaze. At the same time you moved your hand with the dagger in it. 

"I love you Y/N," he whispered, "I love you. 

You positioned the dagger behind his neck, lifting your hand. 

"This…." you breathed, "This is for Tony."

You swung down as hard and as fast as you could aiming the dagger right for the base of his neck but before the blade made contact, a hole exploded out the side of Vincenzo's head sending specks of blood flying onto your face. It was like the lights were immediately cut off in his eyes and he fell over to the side, the sheets quickly staining dark red, the stain growing the longer he laid there. 

Your eyes were fixed on him, in shock. Suddenly, someone was grabbing your arm, pulling you out of the bed. You turned your head to look.

It was Gabriel. 

"Come on Y/N, we gotta go."

You were standing up right now and Gabriel was leading you to the bedroom door where Genji was standing holding a long black bag. 

"You got it from here?" he asked Genji. 

Genji nodded and went into the room with the bag as you and Gabriel left. He pulled you to the wall just outside the door and looked at you. You were shaking now, eyes pinpoints that stared off into nothing. He touched your cheek and you jumped seeming to come to the present. 

"Y/N look at me, stay with me baby. I need you to keep it together for me. We're going home, ok?" 

You nodded, tears starting to spill down your cheeks. He took in your appearance, the robe, the lingerie, but his eyes fixed on the dagger still clutched tightly in your hand. He had gotten there just in time, shot Vincenzo at just the right moment, stopped you from doing what he saw you were about to do. He took the dagger from you and tossed it to the ground, then kissed your cheek.

"It's over Y/N, it's over."

Suddenly the glass panel behind him shattered into pieces, then the one next to it. You both looked and there was Enzio on the stairs below, shooting at you both. 

Gabriel grabbed your hand and pulled you along as he ran along the walkway exchanging gunfire with Enzio as he went. You screamed as glass exploded everywhere and bullets lodged into the wall, narrowly missing you both. 

Gabriel ran out onto the balcony and looked over the railing. 

"Where do we go now?!" you shouted, "We're trapped!"

"Down," he said with an eery calm. 

"Down?!" 

Just as you said that, Enzio was at the balcony door. Gabriel swiftly pulled you to himself, holding you in one arm, then launched you both backwards over the railing. Enzio ran to the railing and let a shot off at you both. Gabriel held his gun up and returned fire, shooting three times. 

Enzio's bullet grazed Gabriel’s shoulder. Gabriel’s shots hit Enzio in his hand making him drop his gun, in his chest, and the final bullet lodged into the middle of his forehead. The whole time, you screamed as you and Gabriel plummeted to the pool below. 

The next thing you knew, Gabriel was pulling you up out of the water as you choked and coughed. He held onto your arm, and moved you both to the back of the pool as he talked into his comm. 

"Genji, everything in place?"

"Cadaver's in place." Genji replied. 

"Explosives set?" asked Gabriel. 

"Ready to go Jefe," answered Jesse. 

"Everyone clear of the house?" he asked. 

"All clear!" Jessica, Genji, and Jesse said in unison. 

"Blow it!" 

Gabriel looked at you grabbing your other arm.

"Deep breath!" you both inhaled deeply together and he pulled you under the water with him just as the loudest noise you had ever heard came from the house. 

You looked at each other under the water as debris fell around you, the surface of the water tinged in orange and black. When you finally came up, you looked toward what was left of the villa, now engulfed in flames. There was flaming debris from the explosion littering the ground. 

Gabriel got out the pool, then pulled you out. He picked you up bridal style so you didn't cut your feet on any glass and ran along the perimeter of the house to the back, where the van and everyone else was waiting for the two of you. He put you in the back then climbed in himself and Jesse peeled off. 

Gabriel cradled you in his lap as you all rode in silence, both of you dripping wet. 

"Are we going to the apartment to get my things, a change of clothes?" you asked him quietly. 

He shook his head. 

"We just blew up your cover. As of right now, Angelica Roman is dead. You can never go back there."

You started to shiver and he wrapped his arms around you tighter, rubbing your arm and back trying to warm you up. Jesse drove to an abandoned field to await transport back to Overwatch. 

As you all waited, Jessica gave you a pair of her sweatpants and a clean pair of underwear to change into. They were small on you, but it beat sitting around in a wet robe and undergarments. Gabriel gave you a t-shirt to put on and the others got out the van so you two could have some privacy while you changed. 

"You're bleeding," you said to Gabriel, before he could put a dry shirt on. He looked at his shoulder where Enzio's bullet had grazed him. 

"There's a first aid kit under the front passenger seat," he said and you went to get it. 

You opened it and handed it to him and you settled down next to him, reaching for antiseptic wipes to clean the wound. He winced a bit as you worked. 

"You were going to kill him." he said. 

"I had to," you said, voice flat and matter of fact, unemotional. 

Gabriel looked at you as you continued to patch up his wound and he knew some part of the Y/N he once knew was gone.

You put the trash from the wipes, antibiotic ointment, and bandages you used into the first aid kit and closed it, taking it from Gabriel and setting it on the ground. You both sat there silent, before Gabriel spoke. 

"I saw what he made you do."

"Then you understand," you replied. You paused. "I'm glad it was you in the end."

"I had to. He knew who you were." You looked at him. "He had pictures of you, your case file from your attack, police reports your mother filed against your father."

You looked up at him at that last part. So Vincenzo knew your mother had been abused by your father. That's why he had confided in you. He probably saw your similar childhoods as a bonding point and another reason to share his…predilection, as he called it, with you. 

"He told me," you said, "just before you came in, he told me he knew who I was."

"He thought you were some agent or operative. There were emails between him and Daniel."

You sighed. 

Gabriel took a deep breath as he turned his body to you taking your face in both hands, pressing his forehead to yours.

"I'm sorry Y/N." he said low

"Don't be. You tried to protect me. I wouldn't listen. I wouldn't back down. This is the result."

"I should have pulled you out sooner."

"I shouldn't have talked you into letting me get close to Vi…Vin…" you couldn't say his name. "...close to him in the first place."

There was a knock on the back door and Jesse stuck his head in. 

"Transport is here." he said. 

"You got the van?" asked Gabriel as he turned to face Jesse.

"Yessir."

Gabriel held your hand as he led you to the ship that was waiting while Jesse drove the van onto the back of it. Everyone took their seats and buckled themselves in as it made its ascent and headed back to Overwatch. 

When the ship landed you all stood at the door waiting for it to open so you could all get off. When it did, Jack was standing on the other side holding up his phone, looking pissed. 

"What the fuck is this!?" He shouted. 

On the screen was a news story. The headline read:

**Vincenzo Bacchelli and New Girlfriend Meet Explosive Demise**

"Wow," said Jessica, "Those GMZ people are fast."

Jack was seething as he stood there scanning everyone's face. When he got to yours he was taken aback. 

"Y/N? You were a part of this too?" 

You looked down unable to meet his eyes. 

"ALL OF YOU! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" shouted Jack.


	23. Getting Through The Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter is smut. Idk what else to say.

Jack had planned to yell and cuss at the group until he was blue in the face, but something about the look in your eyes and the way you were holding your body concerned him and he ended up sending everyone but Gabriel to their rooms, ordering them to return in the morning for a full debrief. Gabriel had you go wait for him in his office. 

"What happened to her?" asked Jack. 

"It's a long story," said Gabriel. His answer enraged Jack. 

"Are you fucking insane!? Y/N's a civilian! She has no fucking business being out in the field with you! Have you looked at her lately? That fucking thousand-yard stare? We've seen men with that same exact look end up in mental facilities. What the fuck were you thinking?!"

Gabriel sighed and sat down. 

"Look put the blame on me-" started Gabriel. 

"Where the fuck else do you think I would put it?! You're their God damn leader Gabe! You of all people should know better." Jack took a breath, "I know you've been off your game since Tony died, but this shit? Now I'm questioning your judgment. Do you understand the shitstorm you just created? You don't think the Bacchellis aren't gonna want someone to pay for this? You think they're not gonna hunt down every one of their rivals until they get answers? You may very well have kicked off a fucking war between the families and for what? Revenge? To stroke your stupid ego? And you make Y/N a casualty to your reckless decision making too? I should rip your fucking head off for that alone."

Jack plopped down in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut like his head hurt, fuming. 

"It wasn't all about revenge." said Gabriel, "I have enough dirt on the Bacchellis and their associates to deal a blow so big they won't have time to start a war with anyone. We can shut down Vincenzo’s trafficking ring and round up everyone associated with that too. I'm not a complete idiot Jack. I wasn't going to kill Vincenzo and walk out of there empty handed, give me some credit," said Gabriel. 

Jack snapped his gaze to Gabriel and glared at him. 

"Credit!? You want credit!? Way to go for making my life after today a fucking nightmare. I'm going to be in meetings about this shit for weeks," Jack's expression became one of disgust, "I can't even stand to look at you right now. Just get the fuck out of my office!"

Gabriel got up and made his way to the door. 

"And you better have your ass back in here bright and early tomorrow with the rest of your idiot team!" 

Gabriel opened the door and left. He took a relieved breath as he walked to his office. He expected Jack to be a lot angrier than he was and he almost felt like he had gotten off with a slap on the wrist, at least for tonight. Good, because he didn't have the mental bandwidth to deal with all of that right now. He wanted to put whatever he had left into taking care of you, getting you through the night. 

Gabriel picked you up from his office and drove you both home. 

He watched you as you went through the motions of showering and getting dressed for bed, but you looked detached from it all, like you were on auto-pilot. You sat on the bed and Gabriel went into the bathroom to take his own shower. When he came out you were still sitting there staring off into space. He put on a clean pair of boxers and sat on his side of the bed and turned so he could see you. 

Out of nowhere, you huffed a laugh then you kept laughing, hysterically. It disturbed Gabriel. 

"Y/N," he said, reaching out to grab your hand. As soon as he made contact, you snatched your hand away. 

"Don't comfort me!" you shouted features becoming angry, "The last thing I want right now is comfort."

He looked at you, slightly stunned by your outburst. You stood, pulling back the covers on the bed, before getting in and settling on your side, turning away from Gabriel. He continued to look at you before he settled into bed himself. 

His sleep that night was fitful, he kept seeing you laying in that bed with Vincenzo on top of you, while you held a dagger in your hand, aimed at the back of his neck, seconds from plunging it into him. 

He opened his eyes and laid there on his back for a moment. He turned on his side, reaching for you, hoping maybe you'd let him hold you, but your side of the bed was empty. He sat up and looked around, you weren't in the room. He got up and went out into the living room, you weren't there either. He climbed up on the couch to look out the window, your car was gone. 

He put on some sweats and a t-shirt and made his way to Overwatch. He went to the studio, it was dark inside and locked up, then he made his way to your room in the barracks. He knocked a few times and when you didn't answer he put in your code and let himself in. You weren't there. Now he was worried. 

At some point in the night you had gotten up and gotten dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt. You packed an overnight bag then grabbed your wallet and got in your car and got on the road. You had no clue where you were going and no plan for when you got there, you just drove. 

You had been on the road for a couple hours now and the sky was just turning a tinge of light blue as the sun started to rise. The car was almost out of gas and you stopped at a gas station to fill up. You went inside to get some water and a couple snacks and as you stood there watching the attendant ring your stuff up, you eyed a flyer for a resort with lakefront rental cabins. 

"Where is this?" you asked the attendant pointing to the flyer. 

"Not far, about five miles off the main road. You can't miss it." You nodded. 

You took your bag of snacks and got back out on the main road heading for the resort. The cabin you rented was secluded from the others and right on the lake with its own dock. It was pretty well appointed with a small kitchen and living room and a good size bedroom. It had a porch that wrapped around the entire cabin with plenty of outdoor seating. Best of all, it was quiet and peaceful, which is what you wanted right now more than anything else. 

You took your snacks and went out on the dock. The sun was still making its ascent and you sat crossed legged, making your way through a bag of gummy bears as you looked out over the calm water of the lake. You had been mindlessly eating, when you looked down as you were pulling your hand out the bag and you realized you had on the charm bracelet Vincenzo had given you. You couldn’t remember when you had put it on.

You froze, looking at it. You blinked and suddenly your hands were covered in deep red blood and you dropped your gummies as your hands started to shake. Horrified, you got up and bent over the edge of the dock on your knees, dipping your hands in the water trying to rub them clean, but it was futile because the lake was now filled with blood and now a snake was wrapped around your wrist where the bracelet had been, ready to bite. You screamed, clawing at the bracelet, yanking at it so hard the clasp broke, then you came up on your knees and chucked it as hard as you could into the water, falling backwards onto your back. 

You brought your hands in front of your face, there was nothing on them. You turned your head and the lake was back to normal. You quickly turned onto your stomach and got up, running back into the cabin. 

You closed the door and slid down it to the floor. You started to swiftly rock your head back, banging the back of it against the door, harder, harder, harder. You started slapping yourself in the face with both hands harder, harder, harder. You clawed at your neck, digging your nails into your skin, scratching yourself deeply, producing angry red welts dotted with tiny pin pricks of blood. You grabbed your hair and pulled it hard, harder and screamed loud, louder, louder until your screams devolved into loud sobs. You leaned over onto the floor, sobbing hard and you began to rake your nails furiously over the inside of your wrists, breaking the skin, like you had done to your neck. You stopped and put your arm over your eyes and laid there still sobbing until you eventually cried yourself to sleep. 

Gabriel was frantically looking for you now. He called you but you had left your phone at home. He drove to everywhere he thought you might go, the duck pond, scenic places he had taken you on dates, parks. You were nowhere to be found and now the sun was about to come up. He got an idea and went back home to get his holopad. He sat on the couch, tapping away, running a trace for recent activity on your credit cards. Suddenly he got a hit for a gas station that was hours away. He got up taking his holopad with him as he ran to the car. 

_knock knock knock_  
_knock knock knock_

You opened your eyes. You were still on the floor. 

_knock knock knock_

You groaned as you got up and slowly made your way to the door. When you opened it, Gabriel was standing on the other side. You looked at each other for a moment before your face crumpled and tears started to fall from your eyes. Gabriel closed the distance, wrapping his arms around you in relief and you wrapped your arms around him in turn crying into his chest. He moved you both inside, closing the door behind himself before he grabbed your face in both hands and kissed both of your tear streaked cheeks.

“Do you know I’ve been looking for you everywhere?” He kissed you again, “Why would you leave in the middle of the night like that and not say anything?” he kissed you once more, “Damn near gave me a heart attack.” He let your face go and wrapped his arms back around you pressing your cheek to his chest as he held your head. “Don’t do that again Y/N, not after the night we just had. Don’t scare me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” you sniffed.

He took a deep breath as he held you, happy to have you in his arms and to have confirmation that you were safe. His hands roamed your back caressing you. He hadn’t held you like this since the day before when he had given you the usb and he realized that now he didn’t have to let you go. He kept one arm around you as he pulled back a little and lifted your chin, looking in your wet eyes.

You looked back at him, suddenly placing your hand on his cheek leaning up to press your lips to his. He kissed you back. It had been so long since you had kissed him like this and you were quickly deepening it, your kiss becoming more vigorous. 

You grabbed his shirt pulling on it, moving backwards as you pulled him forward, stopping at the kitchen island. You maintained your kiss as you reached for your jeans and quickly undid them, then yanked Gabriel’s sweats and boxers down in one swift movement. 

"Y/N," he said against your mouth, voice muffled. 

You started to turn around pulling down your jeans and panties as you went, bending over the island. 

"Y/N," Gabriel said, reluctance in his voice. 

"Please," you said. 

He looked at you for a moment before taking himself in hand, he put his other hand on your back and lined himself up with your entrance then pushed in, both of you releasing relieved moans. 

He sat there a moment, breathing deeply savoring the way you felt around him, your slick warmth, making the hairs on his arms stand on end. He pushed his hands under your shirt feeling the skin of your back, sliding them down to your hips and gripping them before he pulled back and slowly thrust back in. 

He set a slow pace intending to be gentle and tender with you, but that was so far from what you were looking for right now. 

"Faster Gabriel, harder," you said. He picked up the pace somewhat but it still wasn't enough. "Damn it Gabriel! Fuck me! FUCK ME!" you shouted. 

He got the message and when he thrust into you this time it was hard and brutal, snatching your breath away. He grabbed your shoulder and began to pound into you slow and hard, each pointed thrust slamming you forward, giving you seconds to breathe before he was pulling back and slamming into you again. He started to go faster and faster and your eyes started to roll into the back of your head as you gripped the other side of the island, your teeth clicking together each time you tried to open your mouth to release a moan. 

Suddenly he was pulling out of you and turning you around, lifting you up to sit on the island. He crashed his lips into yours and you wrapped your arms around him, cradling the back of his head in your hand, gripping his hair as you kissed him back. 

"That's how you want it?" he breathed against your lips. 

"Yes, just like that," you replied before pressing your lips back to his. 

He broke the kiss and yanked at your jeans and panties, bending down, pulling them, along with your shoes, off you. He came up between your legs, placing his hand on your lower back, pulling you to him as he re-entered you and picked you up off the island. He turned you and slammed your back into the refrigerator, pressing his lips to yours before he started relentlessly pounding into you again. 

The refrigerator rocked as he fucked you against it. You crossed your feet behind him and wrapped an arm around his neck, your hand gripping his back as your other hand reached back and held onto the top of the refrigerator, his thrusts pushing you up and down it rapidly. You broke your kiss, moaning loudly, unabashedly as he pressed his head into your shoulder, grunting and groaning as he thrust into you fast and hard. 

Suddenly he was moving you both again into the living room, both of you kissing, licking, and nipping at each other's lips and tongues as you went. There was a large ottoman in front of a matching chair and Gabriel climbed onto it on his knees. He laid you down across it, your head and shoulders hanging off the edge and soon you were throwing your head back, holding Gabriel’s wrists, as he gripped the sides of your torso and yanked you to himself rapidly while he fucked into you at the same pace. 

"Rub your clit," he breathed and you did as he said, rubbing frantically at yourself, your insides gripping and pulsing around Gabriel’s length.

"Fuuuuck baby," he moaned. "Ugggh I'm gonna cum," he groaned. 

"Me too...fuck...FUCK!" 

Suddenly he was pulling you up into his arms holding you to him tight, your arms around him holding his head to your chest as you both loudly moaned your respective orgasms, Gabriel pumping up into you slowly, his hot seed coating your walls. 

When you both finally calmed, he got up and moved you both into the bedroom where he collapsed on top of the bed and you both fell asleep. 

A few hours later, Gabriel felt you grab his length, pumping it with your hand, bringing it to life. He opened his eyes and you were naked, climbing on top of him, seating yourself on his rod. He looked at your neck, finally noticing the scratches and welts. He was about to say something, but you began to bounce and he lost all concentration. He grabbed your breast, squeezing and caressing, running his thumb back and forth over your nipple. 

He looked at you as you rode him, every curve of your body that he had missed, exactly how he remembered. Your skin just as soft, birthmarks, and stretch marks, the odd scar here and there all right where he remembered them to be. The pleasure you gave him just as satisfying to his spirit as it was to his body like it always had been, the sounds you made just as sweet. You started to grind on his dick rocking your hips back and forth rapidly as you planted your hands on his chest and you stole his breath and his thoughts away as he tossed his head back and groaned.

You slowed down a bit, starting to bounce again and soon he was thrusting up into you, gripping your hips, meeting your movements with his own before he completely took over, planting his feet, pumping up into you rapidly as you threw your head back and screamed. Neither of you could hold out as long as you did before and soon you were both climaxing together again. You collapsed on top of him, panting. He wrapped his arms around you and you both let sleep claim you once more. 

A couple hours later, you woke on your back, under the covers. At some point Gabriel must have tucked you in. You looked out the bedroom door and you could see him pacing on the porch through one of the windows in the main living area, talking on the phone, shirtless and in his boxers.

You pulled the covers back and got up, making your way outside to him. You were still naked and you didn't bother covering up. When you got out there he had finished his call and had tossed his phone on the cushion of one of the many outdoor chairs. He was leaning on the railing now, looking out at the lake. 

You came up behind him and wrapped your arms around him, pressing your cheek to his back. He took a deep breath. 

"Jack is not happy right now," he said. 

You remained silent rubbing your hands up and down his abs and chest. He reached behind himself, touching you, and was surprised to feel skin, instead of some kind of covering. He grabbed your arm, pulling you around in front of him. He smiled as he took you in. Then grabbed your face pecking your mouth. 

"Why are you out here with no clothes on?" 

You shrugged. He kissed you again and you moved forward pressing yourself to him, wrapping your arms around him in a hug. It surprised him at first, but he wrapped his arms around you in turn, caressing your back, before he let you go and grabbed you under your arms, lifting you up, placing you on the railing which was flat on the top so you didn't have to work too hard to maintain your balance. 

He looked at you, grabbing your chin, tilting it up so he could get a good look at the scratches on your neck. As he did you reached out and lightly held his wrist and that's when he saw the inside of yours. 

He quickly grabbed your hand, tuning your arm over, looking at the deep angry scratches, then he grabbed your other hand, turning that over, realizing it looked exactly the same. He looked up at you but you wouldn't meet his eyes. He took a breath, letting your hands go and moved between your legs wrapping his arms around you, turning his head to press kisses to your cheek as he stroked your hair. 

"What have you done to yourself baby?" 

You stayed silent, laying your head on his shoulder. Suddenly a memory of Vincenzo came rushing back and you realized you had been awake too long without a distraction. You didn't want to think about him, hear his voice in your head, remember anything about him at all. 

You reached between you and Gabriel into his boxers pulling out his length. 

"Y/N," he said softly. 

"Please just one more time." you pleaded 

He took a deep breath. How long did you plan to keep this up? How long were you going to use him to keep whatever intrusive thoughts you were having at bay? He knew exactly what you were doing. He'd done the same a couple times in the past when he'd seen or done something particularly traumatizing. He'd hold up in a hotel, cruise the bar, and drink and fuck the week away, all so he didn't have to think. He knew it was a temporary fix and eventually you were going to have to deal with everything you were trying to avoid, but for now he'd be your accomplice, help you run away from your problems and when you realized you couldn't run away from reality anymore he'd be right there too. 

He grabbed your hand on his length and used it to guide himself to your entrance and you gasped as he pushed in. You were sore from the pounding you had already taken twice today, but you welcomed the ache, expecting to take more of a pounding soon, but that's not what Gabriel had in mind at all. 

His thrusts were slow and deep. He made sure you felt every inch of him, but he let you know with his accompanying kisses and touches, his gentle nips and caresses, that he wasn't going to help you abuse yourself any further. He'd distract you with pleasure but he refused to add to your pain.

That didn't stop you from trying to coax him into it though. You put your hands on his ass and pushed, indicating you wanted it harder, faster, but he maintained his methodical pace, wordlessly letting you know that he was in control this time. You were rough with your touches, biting his lip, kissing him with urgency in the hopes he'd match your energy. His thrusts became slightly more forceful but not by much, not enough to create the ache you were chasing after. 

"Hold onto my neck," he said. 

You did as he asked, intertwining your fingers behind his neck. He grabbed the crook of your knees pushing your legs up higher opening you up wider, changing the angle at which you sat on the railing, so you were more leaned back. He pushed his hands forward, grabbing your lower back so your legs now hung over his outstretched arms. Everything about his pace and the power he put behind his thrusts remained the same but they felt a lot more intense now, he hit much deeper within you now, and you threw your head back and released a long guttural moan. 

He smiled because he knew now this wasn’t just a distraction for you anymore. He was making you feel good and you were losing yourself in it. 

"Gabriel…right there baby right there….oooo that feels so good." you moaned slowly, the pitch of your voice slightly higher. 

"You like that baby?" 

"Yes...Yes…please don't stop please…please…please…" The pleasure he was giving you was so overwhelming tears started to slip from your eyes. 

You looked at him and he looked at you. You wanted to touch his face but if you let go of him you'd probably fall and you didn't want anything to interrupt Gabriel giving you the most delicious pleasure you had felt in weeks. 

He stuck his tongue out, reaching forward to lick at your nipple but he couldn't quite reach and his struggling to get to it while maintaining his position and his thrusting made you laugh. 

He grinned. 

"That beautiful sound. I thought I'd never hear that again." You smiled. He turned his head and placed kisses on your arms. "You ready to cum for me sweet girl?" 

You shook your head. 

"Not yet. I just want to feel good like this a little while longer."

"Anything for you mi princesa."

The term of endearment brought more tears to your eyes. You hadn’t heard it in so long and it made your heart swell in a way you had missed. 

Gabriel continued to make love to you on the porch, relishing in your moans and the way you looked at him, your eyes fully alight for him like they had been before Tony died and he had lost himself to his grief and self-loathing. 

If only he could go back to that time, when the light in your eyes was so much brighter than it was now, dulled by psychological and emotional trauma, some of which he was responsible for inflicting. In the back of his mind he knew you weren't ok and it was going to be a long road getting you back to 'just ok' but this moment gave him hope and he was willing to put in as much effort and time as it took to get you there and beyond. Even if it meant taking a hiatus from his duties at Blackwatch and Overwatch to do it. 

When you both finally found release, Gabriel carried your limp and exhausted body back into the cabin and tucked you back into bed. Sleep claimed you immediately and he sat on the edge of the bed looking at you. He grabbed your wrist looking at it again, allowing himself to feel the full brunt of his heartbreak at how much you must be suffering to hurt yourself this way. Tears slid down his cheeks as he closed his eyes and kissed your wounds. 

"It's my turn to put everything on the line for you. I'm gonna take care of you Y/N. I promise."


	24. Opening the Vault

When you woke next it was dark outside and smells of food being cooked filled your nostrils. Your stomach started to growl. You got up and went to your bag to get a pair of panties and a tank top to put on then went out into the main living area after you dressed. 

Gabriel was in the kitchen back in his t-shirt and sweats, plating up his omelets that you loved alongside breakfast potatoes. You went in the kitchen and stood next to him as he set the pan he was holding down. 

"This looks delicious," you said. 

"Figured you might be hungry. Where do you want to eat?" he asked 

"Living room." 

"Take the plates over, I'll bring everything else." 

You grabbed both plates and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch, then took your seat. Gabriel followed behind you shortly after, bringing forks, drinks, and napkins. You ate your first forkful and hummed. 

"It's so good," you said, as you chewed. He smiled. 

"Glad you like it."

"You always make the best breakfast."

"I stick to what I’m good at.”

You both fell into a comfortable silence as you ate. When you were done, Gabriel cleared the plates and came back to the living room, turning on the fireplace. He settled onto the couch, leaning against the arm with one leg up and you sat between his legs, putting your feet up as you leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around you. 

“So how long did you plan to stay out here?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t really have a plan, I still don’t.” 

You both went quiet for a while, then Gabriel reached into his pocket pulling out a cheap 3-piece manicure set he had bought at the store when he got the food. He took out the nail clippers and reached in front of you, grabbing one of your hands. He started with your thumb, clipping the nail down as close to the nail bed as he could get, before he moved onto the next finger. You wanted to be annoyed, but you understood why he was doing it. 

“Jack wants me to come back tomorrow to debrief, but I’m not leaving without you Y/N,” he said, as he started clipping the nails on your other hand. “Will you come back with me?” 

The thought of going back home made you immediately feel anxious and agitated and you sat there remaining silent. Gabriel pulled your hand to his mouth and kissed your knuckles.

“I’m not gonna force you, but you're gonna have to come home eventually baby. How much is this place running you a night? I assume staying here past a night or two is gonna start to get expensive pretty quick.”

He was right, this cabin wasn’t cheap but his logical framing of the situation only agitated you more. You took a deep breath. 

“If I come home, I don’t want to talk about what happened.” 

“That’s fine for now, but you're going to have to talk about it at some point, Y/N.” Now you were angry.

“No! I don’t ever want to talk about it!” You snapped, and he was slightly taken aback, “Isn't it bad enough that I hear his voice in my head? I can still feel his hands on me Gabriel, his breath on my skin. If I talk about it, I’ll never be able to forget. I just want to forget, don’t you understand that!?" tears of frustration started to fall from your eyes, "I just want to forget," you repeated, crying harder. 

Gabriel quickly wrapped his arms around you holding you to himself tight. Stroking your hair back as you sobbed. 

"I get it Y/N, I do."

“I hate myself so much. I’m so fucking stupid." 

"Shhh Y/N, stop," he pressed kisses to your temple. 

"I'm a horrible person….I'm a monster. I'm a monster." 

You were sobbing hysterically now and Gabriel continued to hold you against himself, his arms wrapped around you tightly as he slowly rocked you back and forth. 

He got up, lifting you, taking you back into the bedroom. He got under the covers with you continuing to hold you to him and eventually your sobs calmed to whimpers. 

You held onto him. Your face pressed to his chest, clutching his shirt in your hands. You focused on his warmth. It was like a small flicker of light guiding you through the darkness you felt and some part of you knew that as long as you focused on it you'd come out ok on the other side. 

Eventually you calmed, intermittent sniffles racking your body. You felt exhausted but you laid there awake, Gabriel’s hand gently rubbing your back. 

"Why are you here?" you asked slowly

"What do you mean?" 

"You had to have seen me with him. Saw the way I touched and kissed him. I cared for him, Gabriel. I…I wanted him. I betrayed you. You were right about me. I am a whore. I'm your whore and his slut."

"Stop Y/N."

"Why? We both know it's true. Any longer in there and I would have fucked him. Why do you think I brought the lingerie he asked me to wear? I went there knowing that at some point I was going to give myself to him." You paused, "You should hate me."

"Well I don't and I don't blame you either. Even if you had fucked him. I never would." 

His answer frustrated you. 

"What the hell is wrong with you!? I just told you that I wanted to fuck another man and that's your reaction?! Get angry with me….hit me!"

"What?" he said, pulling back from you, looking at you with slight disgust on his face. 

"I deserve it."

"Never Y/N. You don't ever deserve that." He grabbed your face into his hands, his features deathly serious, "The way you're thinking right now, the way you're trying to hurt and punish yourself, you need help Y/N, this isn't you. I'm going to get you the help you need and I'm going to be with you every step of the way." You looked away from him as tears started to spill over your lashes again, “You can try to hurt me, try to push me away, you can fight me, you can try to provoke me, I don't care. I'm not leaving your side, not for one second and I'm not going to let you hurt yourself anymore. Do you understand?"

You looked at him with your wet eyes. 

"I don't deserve someone like you." you sniffed. He huffed a small laugh. 

"You're right. You deserve better than me." You touched his cheek. 

"You deserve better than me," you said. "I'm a mess, I always have been. Why are you even with me? I'm a disappointment. I do everything wrong."

He took your hand off his face and kissed it. Then pulled you back to him rubbing your back. He took a deep breath. 

"I know you don't want to hear this right now, but I don't care. I'm saying it because it's all true. Y/N I'm with you because you make me happy in ways I don't have words for. You're far from a disappointment, you're a dream come true. You have the warmest heart, you shine from the inside out and your light attracts people, like moths to a flame."

"Like flies to dog shit," you interjected. If you weren’t genuinely deprecating yourself, that probably would have been funny, but he knew you meant it. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Shhh hush Y/N, let me finish." he said, taking a brief pause. "As for doing everything wrong. You're not perfect, I don't expect you to be but you get so many things right. Things I've never gotten right and I've been here longer than you. You teach me how to be better and I've grown as a person, as a man because of you. As for your mistakes, they've made life much more interesting. I keep telling you, you bring the color to our relationship. I'm boring and regimented and you're a confetti cannon. I love the messes you make, maybe not in the moment, but later on…You make life fun Y/N, more worth living."

He went silent, continuing to rub your back. He was right, you didn't want to hear nice things about yourself, not when you hated yourself as much as you did right now. But a small part of you felt warmed by his words and it was that tiny part you spoke from next. 

"I'll come home with you tomorrow."

"Good, because I was gearing up to drag you out of here kicking and screaming."

"Will you make love to me again?" he smiled. 

"I think we've both had enough of that for one day. How 'bout I kiss you breathless instead?" 

He pulled back from you some, lifted your chin, and pressed his lips to yours. His kiss was slow and sweet with an edge of intensity and it made you tingle, like you were feeling how incredible his kiss was for the first time. He pulled back slowly and your eyes were still closed, lips still pursed, like you didn't want it to be over. He smiled and you slowly opened your eyes. 

"Do that again," you whispered. 

He huffed a laugh and pressed his lips back to yours and this time you grabbed his face in both hands, his kiss overwhelming. You turned your head to catch your breath. 

"Oh my God," you breathed as he pressed kisses down your jaw and neck, smiling, as you continued to hold onto him. 

He came back up and his lips were back on yours more passionate this time and your arms wrapped around each other as you parted your lips for one another exchanging tongues. Then the humming started and soon you both were rolling from one end of the bed to the other, each of you taking turns being on top of one another, hands roaming and squeezing and caressing. 

You were both aroused enough for sex, but you found you enjoyed titillating each other with your lips and tongues, your gentle and rough touches, feeling just as connected as if he were inside you. 

The laughing and joking between kisses started sometime before you both fell asleep and it felt like you had your old friend back. A feeling you had missed desperately. 

You knew you probably wouldn't remember feeling this way tomorrow but you held onto it for tonight as tightly as you could. 

You two drifted off wrapped in each others arms, foreheads pressed together. Your thoughts full of Gabriel, your best friend, your heart, your love. 

The next day you showered and dressed. Gabriel arranged for someone from Overwatch to come tow your car back home and you rode in the car with him. When you got back, Gabriel had to go into Overwatch. You were ok with being alone, just not at home, so you tagged along and sat in his office. An hour or so passed and you felt restless so you left the office and wandered around. 

You went to the studio and you realized it didn't spark the same excitement for you when you saw it like it had before. You looked through the windows into the darkened room. You felt nothing. 

You sighed and made your way to the mess hall. Jesse and Genji happened to be in there eating and when Jesse saw you he called you over to their table. You went over and sat down next to him, your hands balled up on the table. 

"You doin' ok Y/N?" he asked. 

"I don't know," he nodded. 

The three of you sat in silence for a while. 

"Genji," you said, "What does it feel like to kill someone? Like, how is it supposed to feel?" 

Genji and Jesse looked at one another across the table, surprised by your question. Then he looked at you. 

"I'm not sure it's supposed to feel like anything. Now that I think about it, I guess I didn't feel anything when I had to do it. I was fulfilling a duty, a purpose. As long as I knew I was working towards that, I don't think I felt one way or the other about it."

You nodded looking down.

He reached out putting his hand on your balled fist and you looked up at him.

"If you ever want to talk about how it makes you feel, you can talk to me." 

You gave a small smile. Jesse put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you close to himself kissing your cheek.

"Me too Y/N." 

"Thanks."

You stayed with them while they finished their meal and talked amongst themselves. You were quiet, content with the distraction listening to their conversation provided. When they finished, both men took one of your hands into theirs and walked you back to Gabriel’s office. 

When you all got there, Gabriel was sitting in his chair behind his desk, talking to Jessica who was seated in front of it. She turned around and looked at you following you with her eyes as you walked around the desk to Gabriel. Genji took the seat next to her and Jesse sat on the edge of the desk one leg up on it, the other planted on the ground. 

Gabriel pulled you onto his leg wrapping his arm around you, kissing your cheek. 

"So, how much trouble are you in Jefe?" asked Jesse. 

"Enough, but it'll blow over when we start rounding people up, which was what I was talking to Jessica about."

She smiled wide, beaming.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Genji. 

"We're picking up everyone associated with Vincenzo's trafficking ring all at the same time so no one has a chance to run or warn the others," said Gabriel, "This’ll be a two-pronged multilocation synchronized operation and I’ve asked Jessica to take point on the ground in Italy."

"What?!" exclaimed Jesse. "What the hell will you be doing?"

"I'll be overseeing everything from here.” 

Gabriel sighed.

“I guess I should tell you all this now, but, there won’t be any new operations after that and we’re gonna start winding the ones currently underway down. Once that’s about done I’ll be taking a step back from Blackwatch for a little while.”

The three looked at him dumbfounded. 

"What exactly does that mean?" asked Jessica. 

"I'm taking long-term leave."

"What!? Why!?" she exclaimed. 

Genji elbowed her arm and she looked at him. His eyes shifted to you and back.

"Oh," she said. 

“So what are we s’posed to do in the meantime?” asked Jesse.

“Jack and I are still hashing that out.”

Jessica looked at you as the others continued talking. If no one was looking closely, they’d think you were following the conversation, but she could tell by the far off look in your eyes that you had checked out a while ago. Jack and Gabriel had said that her, Genji, nor Jesse bore any responsibility for what happened in Italy, but she couldn’t help looking at you and feeling at fault. She had pushed Gabriel to include you in the mission and had pushed him to let you go undercover to seduce Vincenzo and it had broken you in a way no one could have anticipated. She wanted to find some way to make amends, at least for her part in all of this.

Gabriel took you home a little later. He ordered take out for dinner and you were currently seated at the island eating in silence. He got up and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator then went to a drawer in the island to get a bottle opener. He needed to talk to you about something and he figured now was a good time to broach the subject.

“Y/N.”

“Hmm.”

“I talked to Angela today and she gave me a referral for a psychologist that’s experienced in treating soldiers and police officers after they’ve killed someone.”

You looked up from your plate at him, feeling your anxiety and agitation start to rise. Gabriel took a breath.

“I went ahead and made an appointment for you for an initial consultation, two days from now.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, you picked up your water glass and hurled it at him, he dodged it and it hit the refrigerator shattering into pieces. At the same time, Jack was coming into the condo and he witnessed the glass breaking.

“You said if I came home I didn’t have to talk!” you yelled. You threw your fork at him which he also dodge. “You promised!!” you screamed, rage painting your features. Gabriel looked floored by your reaction. 

You picked up your plate, food falling onto the island and the floor as you drew your arm back to throw that too. Jack rushed over to you, grabbing your wrist and the plate out of your hand, setting it on the island.

“YOU PROMISED!! YOU PROMISED!!” you screamed over and over again, balling your free hand into a fist and pounding it onto the island as tears started to fall from your eyes. You tried to reach for the plate but Jack grabbed that hand too and wrapped your arms around you, pulling you off the chair, which you kicked at in a rage as you kept screaming. “YOU LIED TO ME! I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!” Jack lowered you to the floor, still holding onto your wrists as you flailed, still kicking your legs, sobbing hard. He knelt behind you and pressed his head to the side of yours, talking softly in your ear. 

“Y/N, it’s ok. I’ve got you. It’s ok," you stopped your kicking, but your sobbing continued. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you cried.

“I know sweetie, I know.”

“Don’t make me talk Jack, please,” you sobbed, he let go of your wrists and turned you so he could cradle you as you pressed your face into his chest. 

“It's ok Y/N,” he kissed your cheek, then looked up at Gabriel. He was standing there watching you both, his eyes full of hurt and tears he didn’t shed. 

Jack could tell this was going to be a lot harder for Gabriel then he had anticipated. He commended him for wanting to take care of you but after just witnessing the state you were in firsthand, he was worried about the toll it was going to take on him. But he also knew there was little point in trying to talk him out of it, so he decided not to. 

Jack sat with you until you calmed, in the meantime, Gabriel went about cleaning up the mess you made. He didn't know what else to do. 

Jack scooped you up, carried you into your room, pulling back the covers and laying you down before he tucked you in. He came back out, closing the door behind himself and took a deep breath as he watched Gabriel empty the dust pan into the trash. 

"She's in a bad way," Jack said. Gabriel nodded. 

"My fear is this is only the beginning, which is why I wanted her to start talking to someone as soon as possible," said Gabriel. 

"Well clearly she's not on board with that right now." 

Gabriel sighed and closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose, looking down. 

"I feel so guilty. I knew she wasn't equipped for any of this, but I just had to…..When I asked her to do this I already knew she'd agree to it. I acted like I was giving her an out to make myself feel better, but I knew there was no other choice for her, that she'd do anything for me. I just…I never imagined things would go so wrong. You're right, I sacrificed her and what sickens me is how easy it was to do."

They both were silent for a beat. 

"Only thing I can say to that is, your guilt won't help her. It should have no place in this if you're serious about it. Getting her the help she needs should be what's driving you at all times, not your guilt, not your self loathing. That's what caused all this in the first place."

"I know." Jack took a deep breath. 

"If you need me, I'm here.", Gabriel looked at him, "I still think you're a fucking idiot," Gabriel smiled a bit, "But I'm here for you, both of you, whatever you two need."

When Gabriel went into the bedroom you appeared to be asleep. He got undressed and got into bed on his side, his back turned to you. He laid there for a while with his eyes closed. Suddenly you scoot close to him pressing your face into his back, wrapping your arm around his waist. He put his arm over yours intertwining your fingers. 

"Gabriel."

"Hmm."

"What's it feel like to kill someone?" you asked meekly.

He opened his eyes. He lifted your arm and rolled onto his back then pulled you to him so you laid on his chest.

"It depends. If it's an enemy, I've learned not to think about it."

"What was it like? The first time?" you asked. 

He looked down at you, hesitant about whether he should answer. He hadn't thought about his first kill in eons, but he figured you were probably asking in hopes of taking some comfort from whatever he said so he pushed forward and answered anyways. 

"What I remember most, is the adrenaline. I was young, still pretty wet behind the ears. It's a long story but I got stuck in enemy territory. I was hard-headed, even back then as green as I was. I was told to sit tight while a way was cleared to get to me. I decided I didn't want to. So I'm wandering around like a dumbass and I run into this man, a soldier from the other side. Couldn't have been much older than I was at the time. I had surprised him and he started fumbling for his gun, before he could lift it, I shot him, point blank in the face. I don't even remember pulling the trigger, it just sort of happened. But the adrenaline. I just remember standing there shaking like a leaf. I don't even remember the soldiers from my platoon getting to me, taking me back to basecamp. I just remember the shaking."

He sighed. 

"It stopped eventually but I had this…hollow feeling inside that wouldn't quite go away. I'd see that man's face in my dreams, watch it explode open in my nightmares."

"Did it ever go away? The hollow feeling."

"Is that how you feel? Hollow inside?" he asked. 

You nodded. He kissed your forehead.

"It did, once I made peace with it. It did," he said.

"How'd you do that?"

"I guess I just came to accept that I didn't have a choice. It was life or death, me or him. If it wasn't him, it would have been me. There's nothing wrong with wanting to live, wanting to survive. I did what I had to do to survive."

You went quiet 

"Y/N you didn't do anyth-" he started, you cut him off. 

"I don't…I don't want to hear that."

You both went quite again. 

"I'm sorry." you said. "For how angry I got." 

It had surprised you as well. Any other time you would have had more composure and throwing things wasn’t really your style. But the prospect of Gabriel trying to make you talk to someone, it’s like anxiety and agitation had instantly given way to rage that erupted from out of nowhere and it had taken over completely.

"You don't want to talk, I won't make you. But you might feel better...talking to you just now made me feel better," he said.

Silence. 

"I'll think about it." you said. 

"That's fair."

"Even I can be fair sometimes." you said. 

Gabriel smiled remembering the last time you had had this exact exchange, the roles reversed. He wrapped his arms around you pressing more kisses to your forehead. He rubbed you as he held you feeling your breathing get deeper and deeper as you fell asleep. 

He laid there thinking. He hadn't talked about his first kill or how it had made him feel with anyone, ever. It was one of those stories locked away in the Vault of Gabriel that he swore he would never speak. But he wasn't just trying to reassure you when he said talking about it had made him feel better, it really had. He realized that maybe that was the key to getting you to open up. Maybe he had to lead by example and open up himself.


	25. Flashbacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a Vincenzo/Reader story is in the works. It's exciting news (I'm excited) but only if you don't thoroughly hate him after this chapter.

Gabriel postponed the consultation. 

The next day he had to go into Overwatch to solidify plans to shut down Vincenzo’s trafficking ring. Jack had put you on medical leave, but Gabriel didn’t like the idea of leaving you home alone and neither did you, so you went in with him. He found you something constructive to do assisting the ship mechanics with checking in and putting away a large shipment of parts and supplies. Busy work. You didn’t mind it. It was something quiet to do that kept you out of sight so no one could really interact with you.

You found in the couple days after coming home you felt a lot more withdrawn. In addition to not wanting to talk about what happened in Italy, you didn’t want to talk much to anyone about anything, except Gabriel when you felt like it. You felt empty and numb, like you were going through life as an observer, watching yourself going through the motions of living but not really living yourself. You hadn’t danced since that night in Vincenzo’s club and you found you had no desire to. It was like a dark cloud had come to settle over you and your head constantly swirled with thoughts of guilt, regret, and shame. 

You did your best not to think about your time with Vincenzo, because every time you did you felt foolish. You recalled thinking about how you didn’t see the monster that everyone else saw, recalled asking Gabriel to consider sparing him and you came to the conclusion that you were the stupidest person on the planet, gullible, and easily manipulated. He had seen that in you and he used it to his advantage and you had fallen for it. 

You could easily chalk it all up to Angelica, getting too caught up in the character you were playing, but you felt like that was a cop out. Was she not you? Wasn’t it your thoughts and feelings embodying the role and bringing her to life, not the other way around? You didn’t know anymore. All you knew was that you had fucked up with Vincenzo, had gotten way too close to him, lost objectivity and he had severely damaged you. You almost wished he was alive so you could slap him across the face, then kill him again yourself. 

"Y/N," said Gabriel as he peaked his head into the supply room. You turned to look at him from where you were standing, holding the holopad they had given you for your task. "Came to grab you for lunch, you ready to take a break?" 

You nodded, setting the holopad down on a box, and making your way to the door. 

You and Gabriel held hands as you walked to the mess hall, letting each other go as you grabbed trays and made your way through the line. 

At the end of the line were cups of metal utensils and as you waited for the person in front of you to grab their's, they dropped their knife. You watched as it clanged to the floor and you froze. 

Suddenly you were back in that concrete room. Vincenzo was prying your hand open, putting the scalpel into it. He was holding your hand tight, lowering it, placing the knife on the man's neck. Vincenzo applied pressure and the man’s skin broke open on either side of the blade. Blood started to come out the wound and… 

"Hey," said Gabriel, placing a hand on your back, making you jump. 

You looked around, back in the mess hall, your breathing heavy, a feeling of panic in your stomach. You let go of your tray, it and the food on it falling with a clatter to the floor, and you took off running for one of the doors in the mess hall that led outside. When you got out there you doubled over and began to vomit in the grass. Suddenly Gabriel was standing behind you rubbing your back, holding your hair back until you were finished. Then Jessica was coming out with napkins. She handed them to Gabriel, who put them in your hand and you wiped your mouth and tried to catch your breath, closing your eyes

“Are you ok?” asked Jessica, concern in her voice. She looked at Gabriel, “Is she ok?” 

“I’m fine,” you said, finally looking at them both.

“Let's get you to med wing, have Angela look you over,” Gabriel said.

You immediately thought about hospital beds and medical tools and you started to shake your head.

“Anywhere but med wing,” you said quickly.

“Ok.” 

He led you back inside, arm around you. Jessica followed behind the two of you. Eyes were immediately on you as you came in and you looked down as you walked through the mess hall.

“What hell are all of you gawking at!?” yelled Jessica. That seemed to have the desired effect and a majority of the people in the mess hall averted their eyes and went back to their lunches and conversations.

Gabriel took you to his office and fired off a text to Angela. She couldn’t come, but she sent a nurse to come look you over. The nurse concluded there wasn't anything physically wrong with you. You could have told her that, but you went along with the check-up because you knew it made Gabriel feel better. 

Jessica had been sitting quietly in the seat next to you the whole time. She had watched you in the mess hall from the moment the knife fell to the ground to the moment you had run out. She knew the check up was a waste of time as well, but like you, she knew it brought Gabriel relief so she said nothing.

You got up and went to the restroom to rinse out your mouth. Jessica leaned forward in her chair, looking at Gabriel. 

“She had a flashback,” said Jessica. Gabriel scrunched his face as he looked at her.

“How do you know?”

“I know people who...just...I watched her and I can tell.”

“Hmm,” he replied thoughtfully.

“Is she talking to someone?”

“She doesn’t want to talk.”

“Hmm,” she replied thoughtfully. 

Silence settled in.

"Ready for Friday?" he asked. Jessica's face lit up. 

"Are you kidding me? I was born ready. I've been begging you to give me more responsibility for ages, finally you come to your senses."

"Well you finally proved you're deserving of it. As much of a shit show Italy was, you really impressed me, you all did," he said.

“I want to do something for her,” Jessica said out of the blue. He looked at her, surprised. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You want to do something nice for Y/N? Who are you and what did you do with the real Jessica?”

“Hey,” she said, offended, “I can be nice sometimes.”

“Mmm hmm yeah”

“I can!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Well you will, once I figure out what to do. Any ideas?”

“None, that come to mind just now. Everything she used to be interested in...doesn’t bring the same happiness for her it used to." Jessica nodded. 

"That makes sense. Well, if you think of something let me know." Gabriel nodded. 

"Can I ask? You seem to be back to your old self. How do you really feel about Vincenzo being dead, about you killing him?"

Gabriel sat back in his chair stroking his chin hair thoughtfully. 

"Honestly, I feel relieved. They say vengeance doesn't really fix anything, which I guess is true. It didn't bring Tony back. But I feel better than I've felt since he was killed and it was immediate too. As soon as I shot Vincenzo, it's like a door closed and all the bullshit I was carrying around got locked behind it. This wasn't the first time I've gotten revenge on someone, but it's the first time it's felt this good, this satisfying. I just hate Y/N got hurt in the process."

"Yeah," said Jessica in agreement. "What about his cyberstalking her? Talk about creepy."

"Yeah. I just wonder why he didn't dig up more on her? He could have, he could've been watching her, watching all of us. It's like he was off his game too. I know he would have been more thorough than that, I just wonder why he wasn't."

"Because he wanted me to himself," you said, voice flat, startling Gabriel and Jessica. They both looked at you as you stood in the doorway. "He was obsessed with me. That's what he told me." They both looked at you silently. "I'm gonna head back to the supply room."

"Y/N why don't you just take the rest of the day, relax," said Gabriel. You shook your head. 

"I prefer to keep busy."

"Want me to go with you, walk you over there?" he asked. You shook your head again then turned and left. 

That night you and Gabriel laid in bed together on your sides. He spooned you, his warm body curled around yours, his arm around your middle, his hand under your tank top, gently rubbing your stomach in circles. Every now and then his thumb would move up your sternum, your breasts sandwiching it there between them, but he didn't linger there for long before going back to rubbing your stomach. 

"They said you did a good job in the supply room. So, good that the people in the mess hall would like you to help them out tomorrow. If you want to," he said. 

"I'll do it," you replied. 

"I'll take you there when we go in."

You nodded. He pressed a kiss to your neck. 

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But Jessica thought you had a flashback in the mess hall today," he said.

You didn't respond. Instead you leaned back against him more and he continued to rub your stomach, both of you sitting silent for a while. 

"Gabriel."

"Yeah."

"Have you ever had flashbacks?" He took a breath. 

"Yeah I have."

"About what?" 

He sighed, here you were again asking him to dig into the vault. Once again he decided if you found it helpful he'd push through his initial discomfort for you. 

"I've seen a lot of things over the years. I've seen men blow up right in front of me, their parts scattered all about. I've cheated death so many times. I've been stabbed, shot, had bones broken and I've had to do the same to others. I never know what's going to trigger a memory. A smell, a sound, a phrase. I always feel like I'm watching from outside my body. I want to reach out and stop the inevitable from happening, but I can't, all I can do is observe. Sometimes I remember things that I figure I blocked out. I guess my brain conjures those memories up because it feels I'm strong enough to deal with them now than when it initially happened. Those are always fun."

"Do you throw up, like I did?" 

"No, I've never reacted like that, but I guess everyone's different. When I started having them, I'd panic, hyperventilate, like I couldn't catch my breath. I'd get this wave of paranoia, like someone was after me. I used to hold up in a closet or small space, clutching my gun for dear life, ready to shoot whoever came in. As time went on though, I learned to recognize that they were just memories. They can't hurt me. It's just my mind's way of dealing with the fucked up shit I put myself through. Now I just breathe through them, but sometimes, they wipe me out, make me want to be alone. I usually come home or go to my room at Overwatch and do something I find comforting."

"Like what?" 

"Eat something I really enjoy, mainly sweets," you smiled. "Sometimes I call my mom. Hearing her voice makes me feel better. Somehow she seems to know why I'm calling but never speaks directly to it. She just steers the conversation in a way that I end up walking away feeling comforted. Sometimes I just get in bed, roll myself up in the blankets, trying to simulate a hug I guess."

You turned around and looked at him. 

"I can hug you. If you ever need me to." He gave a small smile. 

"I know baby." He used his fingers to push your hair back from your face. "Do you need a hug?" 

You looked down, then nodded. 

He pulled you into his arms and you wrapped yours around him. He held you tight and you closed your eyes. 

"It…it felt so real," you said softly, "Like I was back there and he put the knife in my hand and made me…" your voice started to tremble, "made me…made.." you started to cry. 

Gabriel stroked your hair, "I got you baby. You're right here, safe with me. It's ok Y/N, it's ok."

"Why did he make me do that?" you sobbed, "Why?" 

You clung to Gabriel tightly as he held you and kissed you. Comforting you through your pain until you cried yourself to sleep. 

Over the next several days you went into Overwatch and helped out in different places. Apparently everyone hated doing inventory and were more than happy to pass the job onto you and you were more than happy for the distraction. So far you had helped out in the mess hall, helped the maintenance and janitorial staff, and had even gotten the armory in order. 

You had a few more flashbacks. Luckily you didn't upchuck like you did the first time, but you found what Gabriel said about breathing through them and reminding yourself they were just memories helpful. When they were over, you'd text him to find out where he was and you'd go to him and climb into his lap and let him hold you until you felt a little better. Then later in bed, you'd tell him about them and cry. 

Despite all this, you were still adamant about not talking to a professional and you didn't divulge anything else outside of the flashbacks. But you did find that talking to Gabriel about them made you feel better, if only a little. 

Friday evening was the operation to round up all the players in Vincenzo’s trafficking ring. Blackwatch would also be working in tandem with Overwatch to rescue the women who had been trafficked and were being held in captivity or had been sold to brothels or as slaves to “independent buyers.” 

Gabriel thought Vincenzo was a piece of shit but he did have one tiny redeeming quality, he kept thorough and meticulous records. Names, locations, dollar amounts. It was like Vincenzo had drawn a map for them. Gabriel planned to "accidentally" leak the records to the press. Many of the people involved were high profile. Politicians, celebrities, CEO's. He felt the public had a right to know what these people got up to in their spare time. 

Since you were already insinuated so deeply into the situation and because Gabriel thought it would be helpful for you to see the results of what you and the team had done in Italy, you were allowed to sit in the command room and observe.

You sat next to Jack at a conference table off to the side as Gabriel stood in front of a large screen that spanned the wall. Bodycam feeds from all the teams were in individual squares across the screen so you could see what each team was doing and you could hear what was being said over everyone’s comms through speakers in the room. A few Blackwatch agents sat at computers on the other side of the room.

It was fascinating, and you had to admit, kind of sexy watching Gabriel do his whole Commander thing; giving orders to multiple teams, moving them all like a chess master would move pieces on a board. You had never seen him so serious, so focused, so dedicated to the one task in front of him. 

“On my command, all teams move in,” said Gabriel into his comm a couple seconds passed, “Go, go go, move, move, move!”

You watched the feeds as the teams infiltrated homes, offices, restaurants, stores, boats, train stations, and airports, going in and apprehending a majority of men and a few women who were all involved in the ring, all without gun fire or bloodshed. The people that were apprehended were taken by surprise as they were restrained, and essentially spirited away by the Blackwatch agents. 

Once the players were out the way, the rescue part of the mission commenced and Jack got up and stood next to Gabriel to run Overwatch’s part of the mission. It was strange watching them work together. Their leadership styles were so different but somehow they made it work. 

The teams converged on warehouses, private residences, and brothels inside what looked like private residences. Some of the locations were guarded and had to be cleared out. Firefights commenced but there was no loss of life on Blackwatch or Overwatch’s side. Once the guards were cleared out the teams moved further into the locations coming upon what had to be hundreds of women and children across all locations.

You were horrified by the conditions some of these women were kept in. At least the ones in the brothels were kept in somewhat clean accommodations so as not to turn off the patrons and they had access to bathrooms and running water. But the women in the warehouses were forced to sleep on dirty mattresses on the ground, they had to use the bathroom in buckets. In one of the warehouse feeds, there was a pile of bloody strips of cloth next to a single bottle of water in a corner. Some of the strips were hanging from the fencing as if drying and you realized what they were, makeshift menstrual pads. They weren't even provided feminine hygiene products. Most of the women looked malnourished and dehydrated, there were syringes strun about. You assumed the people holding them kept them drugged up to keep them disoriented and quiet but also so they didn't have to feed them. 

Your heart didn't fully break until you saw the children. Little boys and girls as young as probably six or seven and as old as fifteen or sixteen you guessed, kept in the same deplorable conditions; dirty, malnourished, dehydrated, and frightened. Your heartbreak turned to rage as you watched children just as young being carried out of the brothels. 

If you had any doubts about whether Vincenzo was a monster, less than human, absolute scum seeing those children solidified it for you. You felt sick to your stomach that you ever felt anything for him. That you had kissed him, let him touch your skin. That you felt special being wined and dined by a man who could profit from stealing women and babies from their homes to then be subjected to all forms of abject abuse, neglect, and dehumanization. 

You had already been crying when you saw the women but your tears increased when you saw the children. You realized that rescuing them from all this was just the beginning. They all had a long road of recovery ahead of them. 

Gabriel turned around and saw you wiping tears from your face. He grabbed a box of tissues at the other end of the table you were at and brought them over, then knelt next to you, turning your chair so you faced him. He grabbed a tissue and started wiping your face. 

"This is all because of you Y/N. None of this would have been possible without you." he set the tissue down and grabbed your hands kissing them, "However you feel about what went down with Vincenzo, whatever mistakes you think you made, you have to know that those women and children are going home to their families and loved ones because of everything you did." More tears started to fall from your eyes. He reached up and held your cheek and you looked at him, "You should feel so proud Y/N. Prouder than I am of you right now." You grabbed his wrist and smiled a bit. "You have no clue how amazing you are. All of us are trained to do this kind stuff. We get paid to do this kind stuff. You're an untrained civilian who chose to do all this voluntarily. You're incredible."

"Wait," you sniffed, "I'm not getting paid?" 

You both chuckled. Gabriel grabbed your other cheek as he smiled. 

"There's my silly girl," He came up and kissed both of your cheeks. 

"Uh...Commander, you know your mic is still hot right?" came Jessica's voice over the speakers. 

"Um...no I didn't." said Gabriel standing up straight.

"Well, I vote Overwatch cuts Y/N a check." said Jessica. 

"Second," came someone from another team. 

"Third!" came two others. 

"Fourth."

Soon every team was voicing their agreement that you should be paid for your efforts.

"Hey I'm just a lowly Commander. Ask your Strike Commander, it's his decision." said Gabriel. 

Jack turned around and cut his eyes at him for dragging him into this. 

"I'll think about it," said Jack. 

"That's fair," you and Gabriel said in unison before you looked at each other and laughed.

It was late into the night now and Gabriel was in his office working on reports. The teams had already come back and he and Jack had done a debrief with them and sent them to sleep the night off. You had arranged the chairs in front of his desk to lay across them, before you knew it, you had fallen asleep. 

Gabriel came to a stopping point, turned off his computer and stood. He came around his desk and looked at you as you slept, fondness in his gaze. Suddenly he thought something that he had never thought before, ever. It surprised him and he had a sudden urge to speak the thought aloud. He closed his eyes and shook his head and that seemed to snap him out of it. He went to you and lifted you, carried you to the car and took you home. 

You woke as he was undressing you for bed. 

"Gabriel."

"Yes mi princesa," he said as he pulled off your shoes. 

"You were amazing tonight. Are you sure you want to go on leave? You don't have to. I'll be ok. You don't have to go on leave to be there for me." 

He had just yanked off your jeans and you sat up and raised your arms so he could lift your shirt over your head. He walked to his dresser and got a t-shirt. 

"I don't want to just be there for you Y/N," he walked back over to you unfolding the shirt. You reached behind yourself, unlatching your bra and he pulled it off you before pulling his shirt down over your head, "I want to be there with you."

You stood and he moved to the top of the bed pulling back the covers so you could get in. Once you got in he pulled them over you. He removed his own clothes as he walked around the bed to his side. 

"I just…don't want you to stop doing something you're so good at, take you away from your agents. They need you Gabe."

He got into bed and looked at you. 

"You don't need me?" You turned on your side and grabbed his hand intertwining your fingers. 

"Of course I need you. I'll always need you. I just think they need you more."

He turned to you pulling your hand to his lips to kiss.

"I disagree. Plus, it's not like I'm leaving for good. I'm just taking a break. All my agents understand that. So there's no need for you to worry."

You nodded. Then went silent. Gabriel reached up and held your cheek, stroking it with his thumb. 

"What are you thinking about?" he asked. 

"I think…I think I'm ready to talk to someone, a professional."

He smiled a bit. 

"Why the sudden change of heart?" 

You took a breath. 

"I was thinking about those women, those kids, how much I want them to get the help they need, how much I want healing for all of them. Then I realized I want them to do something I won't even do myself. What if I encountered one of them and they were looking to me for reassurance that talking about their experience would help. I'd have nothing to say. I'd have no comforting words to give them, because I won't even take the first step."

He leaned forward and pecked your lips. 

"My brave girl," he said softly. 

"Will you go with me?"

"Of course. I meant what I said, every step of the way Y/N. I'm going to be right there with you."

You pecked his lips. 

"I love you," you said. 

He looked in your eyes, that spark he always looked for was there, but there was something else, he couldn't describe it. It was like a conviction that wasn't there before, like your love for him was an undeniably truth that couldn't be shaken. 

It stirred something in him and the thought he had had before was back but stronger. 

_Marry me_


	26. CPR

The following week Gabriel went with you for the initial consultation with the psychologist, Dr. Cordys. Because it was more of an intake session, he let Gabriel stay in the room. Gabriel silently sat on the couch next to you and you held each other's hand as you answered questions about your medical and behavioral history. Things like if you were on any medication, if you had ever done or are currently doing recreational drugs, were you promiscuous or did you engage in risky sex, have you ever been suicidal or attempted suicide. All routine questions. 

Once the questions were out of the way, Dr. Cordys gave a whole spiel about his background and how he typically ran his sessions. He explained that because he was a psychiatrist, he had the ability to prescribe medications if he felt they were necessary, but he liked to try non-pharmacological alternatives first before going straight to pills. You determined that you would see him twice a week and he asked you what your goals were for the sessions. At no point did he ask you to talk specifically about why you were there and for some reason you found that put you at ease. You started seeing Dr. Cordys officially later that week. 

You thought the first few sessions went ok, You had a hard time talking about certain things, but you found Dr. Cordys' demeanor soothing and he was patient and easy to talk to. 

You were seeing Dr. Cordys regularly now and you were about two full weeks in at this point. Gabriel came with you to every session and sat in the waiting area the entire hour you were in with the doctor. Today seemed to be going like the days before it. You had been there for about half an hour now and he was on his phone reading emails. 

Gabriel had wrapped things up with Blackwatch and was officially on leave but that didn't stop him from checking up on certain things from his phone or holopad when he got a free moment, usually at your sessions or after you had gone to bed. What could he say? He was a workaholic. He still gave you 99% of his attention, what was giving 1% to Blackwatch going to hurt?

Suddenly he heard you yelling from behind the door and he looked up and scrunched his face, becoming concerned. Next thing he heard was the sound of something breaking. He got up, and went to the door, slipping his phone in his pocket. He meant to open it a crack just to check everything was ok, but what he saw shocked him. 

You were standing behind the couch holding a lamp that usually sat on the end tables that flanked the couch. It's twin was in pieces across the room, he assumed where you had thrown it. Dr. Cordys was standing, hands up, trying to talk you down as you stood there ready to launch the lamp at him, tears streaming quickly down your face, rage in your features. 

"Y/N No!" shouted Gabriel, rushing in. 

He grabbed your wrist, taking the lamp from you, setting it back on the table as you tried to fight your way out of his grasp. He grabbed your other arm and wrapped both around you as you flailed violently, screaming nonsense, and sobbing hard. 

He brought you down to the floor and held you, kneeling behind you until you stopped moving. Then he let you go and pulled you into his arms, cradling you as you wrapped your arms around him and sobbed into his chest. 

"I got you baby, I got you." he whispered, rocking you and stroking your back. 

Dr. Cordys came around the couch. 

"I think we hit a nerve," said the doctor. Gabriel looked at him, still rubbing you as you cried. 

"Sorry about your lamp," he said. Dr. Cordys shook his head. 

"I have more in storage." Gabriel scrunched his face, a little baffled by his response. Dr. Cordys smiled, "This isn't my first rodeo. People get volatile sometimes and the lamps usually end up taking the brunt of it. This was pretty tame though, I've seen worse."

Gabriel nodded, a little relieved that this was normal for the doctor and that you hadn’t scared the crap out of him. He looked back at you, your sobs starting to calm and pressed kisses to your temple.

"You're ok Y/N, you're ok."

Dr. Cordys went to get a box of tissues and brought them over, pulling some out before kneeling down to hand them to you as you started to turn your head from Gabriel's chest. You took them and wiped your face, sniffling 

"I...I...I'm sorry," you got out shakily. 

"It's quite alright Y/N, really," said Dr. Cordys. 

"I'll...I'll pay for the lamp." he smiled. 

"Don't worry about it.

"I'm sorry...sorry if I scared you."

"No apology necessary. This is all pretty normal. As we touch on things you find especially painful or traumatic it may trigger a fight or flight response. Looks like we got a fighter on our hands." he said with a slight chuckle. You smiled a little. "But I assure you it's nothing I haven't seen before. It just means we'll have to tread a little lighter around those subjects until we can push through them. Not to worry though. This is a marathon Y/N, not a sprint. A step forward, even if it's a baby step, even if all you move is an inch is progress."

You nodded. 

"I'm gonna let Gabriel take you home now. Get some rest and be gentle with yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong here. I'll keep our next appointment on the books, but if you find you need more time before you come back, just call and let me know."

You nodded again. Dr. Cordys stood. 

“You think you can walk to the car?” Gabriel asked you.

“I think so,” you said.

He stood, pulling you up with him, holding you around your waist as you held onto him.

“Thanks Dr. Cordys,” Gabriel said.

“No problem. I’ll see you two next time” 

“See you then.” 

Gabriel held you close and walked you out to the car. He helped you get in and buckled your seatbelt then got in himself and drove home.

You spent the rest of the day in bed. Gabriel brought you tea, brought you food, sat and talked with you, did what he could to comfort you. 

“Will you take a shower with me?” you asked that evening. 

“Ok,” he answered. 

You both got undressed and went into the bathroom. Gabriel turned on the shower and you both waited for it to come up to temperature. You leaned against the sink and he leaned against you, pressing himself to you, his hands on the sink next to yours. He pecked your mouth. 

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“How pissed do you think the landlord would be if we took out this shower and put in a tub?”

Gabriel smiled.

“I guess it depends on how much value it adds.”

“Hmm,” you replied thoughtfully.

“I’m not paying to add value to someone else’s house.” he said.

“We could take it with us when we leave.”

“Oh yeah Y/N, that’ll go over great with the landlord. Here’s a big gaping hole where your shower used to be. Plus, what the hell are we going to do with the bathtub?”

“I don’t know. I just want to soak sometimes, you know? Especially now. All of this is taking a toll on me physically as well. I’m sore.”

Gabriel pulled you to him, holding you around your waist.

“I’ll give you a massage when we get out.” 

“Ok.”

The mirror started to fog and you both got into the shower. Gabriel held you as you stood in front of the spray, your back to his chest. You leaned back against him, holding his wrists, closing your eyes as he kissed your neck and you let out relaxed hums. Eventually he let you go and grabbed your shampoo. He lathered your hair, massaging your scalp, his hands felt like heaven.

“Why are you so good to me?” you said. 

“Can’t help it.”

“That feels perfect.” you sighed satisfactorily.

He grabbed the shower wand and rinsed your hair out, then put your conditioner in. You both took turns washing each other, rubbing gentle circles over each other's skin with a washcloth, placing kisses on each other here and there. Finally you rinsed each other and Gabriel rinsed out your hair then you got out, wrapping towels around yourselves. 

Gabriel had you lay on the bed after you dried off and he massaged body butter into your skin, his strong hands kneading your sore muscles, melting any tension you had in them away. You hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time and you realized how grateful you were to Gabriel. 

"Babe," you said slowly as he worked on your back. 

"Mmm."

"Thank you for being with me through all this. I know it's been tough, but I feel like it'd be even harder if you weren't here."

"I'd do anything for you Y/N. Anything."

"I'd do anything for you too." you whispered. 

He leaned forward and kissed a trail down your spine. 

"I know," he replied. 

Neither of you bothered with dressing for bed. Instead, you got under the covers, your naked bodies pressed together, limbs intertwined as you savored the feel of each other, skin on skin. You looked at each other. As you did, the thoughts Gabriel had been having more and more lately came back.

_Marry me Y/N_  
_Be my wife_

He felt the strongest urge to say them aloud and he kissed you before it got the best of him. You snuggled into his chest and closed your eyes as sleep started to claim you.

“I love you,” you whispered.

Gabriel hesitated a bit afraid if he spoke he’d say the wrong thing.

“Love...love you too.” he said quickly.

He laid there for a while, making sure you were fully asleep before he slowly untangled himself from you and got out of bed. He pulled the covers up over your shoulders and kissed your forehead, before he got a pair of sweatpants out his dresser and pulled them on, then left the bedroom with his phone. He went outside and got in the car then hit the button to auto-dial a number and put the phone to his ear.

“Mijo! How are you doing? How is Y/N?” answered his mother.

“Y/N is doing ok.” He hadn’t told her about the troubles you two were having as of late.

“And you my son? Are things well?” He sighed.

“Máma, I…” There was a long pause.

“What is it? Tell me.” she said.

“I...I think I want to marry Y/N.”

He heard her sigh into the phone.

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this phone call? I knew she was the one from the moment you brought her home. Marta and I had a bet going to see how long it would take you to want to propose.”

He huffed a laugh.

“Who won?”

“I did, of course. Easiest $50 I ever made.” he smiled, “So what’s the matter?”

He sighed.

“She’s not in a good place right now. Some things have happened...It’s a long story. She’s not 100% and I’m helping her through it but….I feel like the timing is all wrong. I feel like I have so much more to prove to her to show I deserve to have her as my wife.”

His mother chuckled.

“What?” he said.

“I’ve never heard you use the phrase, “my wife”. It’s very jarring coming from you.”

“Máma” he whined. “Be serious, please. I feel like I’m losing my mind here.”

“Oh my Gabriel, you don’t know how happy all this makes me. I was afraid my only son was never going to find someone his heart could beat for, and now here you are, head over heels in love and terrified out of your mind. This is a dream come true for me.”

“Máma!” He whined again. She laughed.

“Ok, I’m done teasing you." she took a breath, "What do you want me to say to you, mijo? If you want to marry her, then ask her, don’t let your doubts get in your way.”

“I don’t have a ring yet and every time I look at her I’m seconds from saying the words.”

“Then start there, go look at rings. Do you know what she wants?”

“I have no clue. I just know it can’t be a diamond. In my opinion, they're too ordinary for her.”

“I agree, a diamond doesn’t suit her.” She paused, “You know people right? Use your contacts, call in a favor.”

He sat there thinking.

“I could do that.”

“See? You just need a project to keep your mind occupied while you give Y/N the time she needs to get back to herself. Treat this like one of your missions.” 

“I can do that.” he said, sounding more resolved.

“And stop worrying about being worthy of her or the timing. Work on getting the ring, once you’ve done that you’ll know when the right time is.”

He took a relieved breath.

“Thank You. I could've figured this out on my own but…my mind is all over the place right now.”

She took a breath. 

“Tell me mijo, how are you? Really?”

“It’s been hard, this stuff that's going on with Y/N. I took time off to be with her through all of it, but sometimes I feel so useless. She’s hurt máma, psychologically. She’s hurt really bad and I just hate watching her suffer. I’d give anything to trade places with her right now, take all her pain on myself, just so I can see her face light up the way it does when she dances.”

“And you worry about being worthy of her,” she said sarcastically.

“No máma, I messed up. Right before all of this, I didn’t treat her the way I should have. We were kind of starting to find our way back to each other, to how we used to be and then….” he paused. 

“It’s a long story,” she said.

“Yeah.”

She sighed.

“If what Y/N is dealing with is as bad as it sounds, I know you're putting everything you have into taking care of her. Just remember to take care of yourself as well. You're no good to her if you burn yourself out.”

“I know. I will.”

“Go find your ring my son and send me a picture when you do.”

“Ok. Máma?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell Marta.”

“What? How am I supposed to get my $50?”

“I’ll send it to you. I don’t want her to know yet, you know how she is. This ring hunt is going to get crazy with her involved. Knowing her, she’ll probably fly out here.”

“She is a busy body, isn’t she?”

“And a control freak, and a know-it-all, and hard-headed-”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” his mother said, cutting him off, smile in her voice. 

“I’m nothing like her.”

“Ha!” she laughed.

“I’m not.” She was still laughing.

“I’ll talk to you later Gabriel. Don't’ forget to send my $50”

“Máma, I’m not.”

“I’m hanging up now.” she chuckled. 

“Máma-”

“Talk to you later,” she hung up.

He smiled, shaking his head. He got out the car, and went inside. He went to the bedroom and cut off all the lights then got in bed next to you on his back. He pulled you to him and you wrapped your arm around him, placing kisses on his chest as you snuggled into it and fell back into a deep sleep. 

“My wife,” said Gabriel quietly, looking at you, gently rubbing your back, “This is my wife.”

You decided to keep your next appointment with Dr. Cordys. Before you went into his office he came out.

“I have a friend I’d like you to meet.” he said, holding the door open. Out came a chocolate labrador retriever. Your face immediately lit up. “This is Taffy.”

“Oh my goodness, can I pet her?” you asked.

“That’s why she’s here.”

You knelt down and held your hand out to her for her to sniff and she came closer to you. You put your hands behind her ears and scratched them. You looked at Gabriel.

“Oh my God Gabriel, I love her.”

Gabriel smiled.

“Taffy is a therapy dog, she’s trained to work with patients with PTSD. I thought we’d use her services today for your session and if you find it helpful, we’ll make her a permanent fixture.” said Dr. Cordys. 

“What does she do?” you asked as you continued to pet her.

“Dogs tend to make people feel safer in general, on top of that, if Taffy senses you need a little extra emotional support she's trained to provide that, which could be helpful when we touch on some of those things that trigger your fight or flight response.” You nodded, “Want to give it a try?”

“Absolutely,” you said. You stood and started to walk into the office, “Come on Taffy,” you said patting your leg, “Come on girl.” Taffy followed after you.

“I’ll just be out here,” Gabriel called. You didn’t turn around. He shook his head, “Outshined by a dog.”

Dr. Cordys shrugged as he smiled, then went into the office closing the door behind him.

Taffy did exactly as Dr. Cordys said she would. When you got on a topic that you found hard to talk about and caused you increased anxiety, Taffy would hop up on the couch and lay her head on your lap, which did two things. It disrupted the thought pattern you were fixated on, which kept you from spiraling and petting Taffy brought a sense of added comfort and safety, you felt calmer and more at ease. When Dr. Cordys came back to the topic, it wasn't as difficult to speak on as it had been initially. You decided you'd like to have Taffy at all your sessions going forward. 

You were now at the three month marker. During that time you were still making progress with Dr. Cordys and Taffy, but towards the beginning, as you worked through certain aspects of your trauma in the office you started experiencing nightmares and flashbacks at home. 

One week you woke screaming from a nightmare almost every night. Gabriel would be right there to hold you, comfort you, and when you felt calm enough you'd tell him about it, then he'd open the vault and tell you about some of his, which oddly enough comforted you and made you feel like you weren't in this alone. By the end of the week you could tell all this disrupted sleep was affecting Gabriel, though he never said it. You suggested he start taking a couple self-care days a week, where he could leave you at home and go do something relaxing or fun, take time just for himself. After much persuasion on your part, he finally agreed to take one day a week for himself. 

Before, the idea of being at home by yourself made your anxiety flair, but now it didn't bother you as much. You spent the day doing laundry or tidying up around the condo and that occupied your mind enough that you didn’t dwell on being alone as much. One day, Gabriel came home to find you cooking, something you hadn’t had the enthusiasm to do since you got back from Italy, because you were afraid to think about cooking with Vincenzo. You thought of him somewhat, but Dr. Cordys had taught you some coping strategies so you could push through the anxiety and uncomfortable thoughts. You probably wouldn't be making pasta anytime soon, and all you really did was pull a skillet meal out of the freezer and heat it in a pan so you didn't have to handle a knife, but you found you enjoyed your time in the kitchen anyways. 

_Baby steps_ you thought. 

Towards the end of the three months, Gabriel came home from one of his self-care days to something he hadn't heard in the house in a while, music. It was coming from the bedroom and it wasn't very loud either. The door was opened partially and you were sitting on the bed folding laundry and when you started to sing along Gabriel’s heart skipped a beat. He leaned against the wall outside the door and listened as you sang over the music. 

***CPR by Summer Walker***

_Caught me at the right time baby (Oh)  
I was at the edge, I was at the end  
Made me feel like there is life worth living  
Made me feel alive oh yeah  
Time ain't on my side_

_Baby where would I be without your love beside me? Oh  
Baby where would I be? Probably gone, oh_

_'Cause it feels like CPR  
'Cause it feels like CPR_

Happy tears filled his eyes but he didn't let them fall. It had been ages since he heard you sing. He estimated your singing stopped right around the time he had stopped coming home. Your voice was just as angelic as he remembered it to be and as he stood there he had this overwhelming feeling of serenity and well being, and he thought your singing voice was all the self-care he really needed. 

You still had a long road ahead of you but for the first time he felt deep down that everything truly was going to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta-reader forgot who Marta was (lol!) so for those who might have forgotten as well or those who are new to the series (Welcome btw!), Marta is Gabe's younger sister. Background on Gabe's family can be found in [**Reassurance**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158104).


	27. Social Stimulation

Gabriel began using his self-care days for his ring search. He decided to start with the local jewelers in town and branch out from there. On one trip, he had pulled in front of a jewelers at a strip mall. He got out his car and walked to the door, reaching for it, when someone called his name. 

"Gabriel?" He froze and turned around. It was Angela, holding a smoothie in her hand. "I thought that was you."

"Hey Angela," he said. 

"Are you going in there?" she asked with a knowing smile. He nodded. "Mind if I tag along?" 

He sighed. "If you must." He opened the door for her and she walked in, he followed behind her. 

"So what are you looking for? Anniversary gift? A 'just because' gift? An apology gift?" she asked. He scrunched his face. 

"Apology gift?" 

"Diamonds have a way of smoothing things over. I have a jewelry box at home full of beautiful apologies."

"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind." He took a breath, "I'm looking for an engagement ring."

Angela gasped and turned around, a giant smile on her face. 

"I can't believe it! Well actually I can, you and Y/N have been hot and heavy for a while now. But you, actually wanting to propose, I can't believe it!" 

"Well believe it."

Angela started to jump up and down excitedly, clapping her hand to her smoothie cup. 

"I'm so glad I bumped into you, this is going to be so much fun."

Gabriel rolled his eyes as they approached the jewelry counter. An attendant came over. 

"Hello, I'm Rena, how may I help you two today?" she asked. 

"My friend here is looking for an engagement ring," said Angela. Rena's face lit up. 

"Oh congratulations! Did you have anything specific in mind?" 

"Not really, I was kind of hoping I'd know the right one when I saw it," said Gabriel. 

"Ok, not a problem. I can pull out some different options for you to look at." 

"Can we see all your available inventory?" asked Angela. Rena looked taken aback.

"I…sure. We'll have to do it in batches though. I can't have everything out at one time…security."

"I understand," said Angela. 

"If you two would like to pull up those two chairs on the wall to your right, I'll head to the back and grab some more keys."

Angela nodded. Gabriel went and grabbed the chairs and brought them over.

"We're gonna be here all day because of you," huffed Gabriel as he sat down. 

"You have somewhere else to be?" Angela asked. 

"Not really but-" 

"Then what are you worried about? You don't even know what you want. You should look at everything."

Gabriel gave an aggravated sigh. 

Rena came back out with two trays of rings in her hands and a ring of keys around her wrist. She set the trays down on the counter for Angela and Gabriel to look at while she went to another case to unlock it. 

They were all diamond rings with silver bands, which disappointed Gabriel. Angela saw it on his face. 

"What's wrong with these?" she asked. 

"I'm not really looking for a diamond."

"Hmm," she replied as she nodded. "Well, let's look at them anyways. Is there a cut or stone shape that you like on any of these?" 

He looked the rings over carefully imagining them on your finger. He picked up one and took a closer look.

"This one," he picked up another, "and this one." He handed them to Angela. 

Rena walked over with two more trays.

"Rena, can you tell us what stone shape these rings are?" asked Angela holding the rings out to her. Rena took them and looked at them. 

"This one is a marquise cut. It tends to make the wearer's finger look more slender and elongated. A great option for a solitaire ring." she handed it back to Angela and Angela handed it to Gabriel so he could look at it again. "And this one is pear cut. This cut was created for maximum sparkle." Angela handed that ring back to Gabriel as well. 

"I think I'm more partial to the pear cut. I think that would look better on Y/N," said Gabriel, setting both rings back in the tray. 

"See?" said Angela, "Progress. Now what about band color, these first trays are all silver, but these other trays have gold and rose gold." 

She pushed the other trays Rena brought over in front of Gabriel. He took out a gold and rose gold ring, again picturing it on your finger.

"I like rose gold," he turned the gold ring on its side, "and what's this design that the band is in called?" 

"That's called an infinity twist," answered Rena, "See how it makes the infinity symbol?" 

Gabriel nodded. "I like that too."

Angela smiled. 

"And you thought this was a waste of time," she smirked, before taking a sip from her smoothie. 

"You've made your point," he said. 

"What do you guys carry as far as other gemstones?" Angela asked, "He's not really interested in diamonds."

Rena nodded. 

"Let me put these away and I'll show you what I have."

Rena went about putting away the trays she took out and taking the other two back to the back. She came back out and went about taking rings out of cases and putting them in a tray. Then she brought them over. 

"So, as far as other gemstones, these are emeralds." she handed Gabriel two emerald rings that he looked over, then passed to Angela. "These next three are morganite." Gabriel lingered on these a little longer than the emeralds.

"What are these called again?" he asked. 

"Morganite. How do you feel about those?" asked Rena with a smile, noticing they peaked his interest. 

"I like the color. With the rose gold band, I think it would look nice on Y/N."

"I think you're right," said Angela leaning in to look at the rings. He passed them to her. 

"If you'd like to stick to a more pinkish color, we also have peach sapphire and this just happens to have a rose gold band so you can get an idea what that would look like," said Rena handing Gabriel another ring. 

"Now that's really pretty," marveled Angela. Gabriel nodded. 

"I like the diamonds around the stone. Is there a term for that?" he asked. 

"It's called a halo," answered Rena. 

Gabriel turned the ring over in his fingers for a while. 

"This one is almost perfect, it's just the wrong cut, and the wrong band design," said Gabriel. He took out his phone and took a few pictures of it. 

"How much would something like this cost?" asked Angela.

"This particular ring, with a 0.7 carat sapphire is around $3,000."

Angela's eyes went wide. She turned to Gabriel. 

"Can you afford that?" she asked Gabriel. 

"I was expecting to spend more, actually," he answered. 

"Wow, lucky girl," said Angela. "Rena, do you guys do custom designs?" 

"We do, but only for diamond engagement rings, unfortunately."

"Darn and I'm assuming you don't have the ring he's looking for in your inventory either," said Angela. 

"We don't, sorry."

Gabriel sighed and stood. 

"Thank you for all your assistance Rena, this was really helpful." he held out his hand and she shook it. 

"No problem. Even though we don't have the ring you want, I'm glad I was able to answer your questions and help you get a better idea of what you're looking for. Congratulations again."

"Thank you."

"Thanks Rena," said Angela, shaking her hand, then she and Gabriel left. 

"Thanks Angela," Gabriel said, when they got outside.

"Happy to help. Good luck on your quest to find the perfect ring."

"Thanks, clearly I'll need it."

"I'm really happy for you Gabriel, for both of you." He smiled, "Tell Y/N I said hi. We all miss her around Overwatch."

"I will." 

"I'll be looking for my wedding invitation in the mail."

"Yeah yeah, I'll see you later Angela."

"See ya."

They both turned and parted ways.

You were four months into your recovery and felt you wanted to be more socially stimulated. There was nothing wrong with hanging out with Jack and Gabriel but you wanted some other perspectives to talk to, wanted to surround yourself with other kinds of energy. You just plain wanted to do something fun with other people. So Gabriel planned a game night. Outside of Ana and baby Micah's dad, no other agent had been inside the condo and Gabriel was adamant about keeping it that way, but for you he made an exception. 

One early evening he ordered pizzas, wings, and sodas and went to pick up Jessica, Genji, and Jesse from Overwatch, giving them strict instructions not to tell anyone about this or other people would be asking for invites to his house. When they got there, you were taking the food and drinks from the delivery person. 

"Hey Y/N!" called Jesse, as everyone got out the car. 

"Hey guys!" you called back. 

Jesse and Genji came over to you and emptied your hands and you turned and led them into the condo so they could set everything down on the island. Jessica and Gabriel came in behind them, Jessica carrying board games she had brought.

"Nice place Commander," said Genji. 

"Yeah, didn't expect you to live somewhere like this," said Jesse. 

Gabriel blinked. 

"I don't even want to know what that means,” he said. “But I swear to God if you guys break anything, your invite will be immediately rescinded and you're all walking back to Overwatch.”

"Can't believe Morrison lives here too. It's a little cramped for three people, don't you think?" said Jessica. 

You and Gabriel exchanged a look. 

"We can't all afford to live in mcmansions like you and your family Jessica," replied Gabriel. 

She shrugged.

You grabbed paper plates and plastic cups and emptied a big bag of snack mix into a bowl. Everyone grabbed their food and took it to the living room. 

"So what are we gonna play first," asked Jessica. 

"I vote charades," said Jesse, "and I vote I'm on Y/N's team."

"Whatever,” Jessica said.

You all ate your food as each team; you and Jesse versus Genji and Jessica; took turns giving the other team a phrase to act out written on pieces of napkin. Gabriel played score keeper. On his turn, Jesse got up to act out his phrase. He held up two fingers.

“Two words,” you said. He nodded. Then held up one finger. “First word.” He nodded again. Then he started doing these jerky movements and flapping his arms. 

"What in the hell….?" Gabriel said. 

“Some kind of bird,” you laughed. Jesse nodded vigorously to show you were right then went back to doing the movements. You tried your best to guess but you were laughing too hard and before you knew it time was up. Gabriel watched you, he hadn’t seen you laugh like that in a while and it made him smile.

You grabbed your soda. 

“So what was that?” you asked Jesse, before taking a gulp of your drink.

“A chicken,” he said. You snorted. Your mouth was still full of soda and you tried to hold your laughter but you couldn’t and it ended up shooting out of your nose.

“Eww!” “Ugh!” everyone in the room exclaimed. Genji passed you some napkins.

“That was the grossest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Jesse coming over to where you were sitting, “High five Y/N.” You gave each other five.

“I do my best,” you laughed.

Suddenly Jack came through the door and froze looking at everyone in the living room.

“What the hell are you people doing here? I come home to get away from all of you and now you’re in my living room?” said Jack.

“It’s game night Jack, come join us,” you said.

“Hmm I think I’ll pass,” he said, closing the door behind himself. “But I will help myself to some of this pizza.”

You and the others went back to your game of charades, while Gabriel got up to get more pizza. 

“Y/N looks in good spirits tonight,’ said Jack.

“Yeah,” said Gabriel looking at you lovingly.

Jack looked at him and scrunched his face.

“What’s going on with you? Something about you is different.”

“I’m gonna ask her to marry me,” Gabriel said absentmindedly. Jack’s eyes went wide as a grin spread across his face. Gabriel realized what he had said and quickly looked at Jack.

“Do you have a ring yet?” he asked. Gabriel started waving his hands frantically. 

“Shhh! Not here damn it, outside." He made his way out the front door and Jack followed behind him, closing it. 

"So?" asked Jack, smile across his face. 

"No, I don't have a ring. I'm still looking for the right one."

Jack stood there smiling. 

"You know they come in different sizes right?"

"I'm not an idiot Jack. I know that."

"Do you know her ring size?"

"Yeah. One night I wrapped the little twist tie thing from the bread around her finger when she was asleep and I took it to a jeweler."

Jack nodded approvingly. 

"Sounds like you're on top of it. Do you know how you're gonna propose?"

"Not yet. Right now I'm just focused on the ring."

"Well whatever you do, don't do a public proposal, she hates those."

"How do you know?" 

"We've talked about it."

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah really. Y/N and I talk about a lot of stuff. Stuff you won't touch with a ten foot pole, otherwise you'd already know these things."

"Hmm, whatever," grumbled Gabriel. 

"So you're really serious about this?" asked Jack 

"Yeah, I am."

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd actually want to settle down but…" he put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, "I'm happy for you, for both of you. Congratulations."

"Save the congratulations for after she says yes." Jack smiled. 

"You already know she will. She's just as crazy about you as you are about her. I've never met two people who I can look at and say they really belong together, but you and Y/N…she'll say yes."

Gabriel nodded and they went silent for a second. 

"You should probably start writing your speech now," said Gabriel. 

"Speech?" 

"Doesn't the best man usually give a speech?" 

Jack looked at Gabriel, surprised. 

"You want….me to…?

"Who else did you think I would ask?"

"I…I don't…"

"Come on Jack, don't start acting brand new on me now. You already know I see you as my brother besides that I never would have met Y/N if it wasn't for you. Of course you were always going to be my best man."

Jack smiled. 

"I'd be honored to," 

They looked at each other and did a forearm handshake. 

"Come here you doofus," Gabriel said, pulling Jack in for a hug. They continued to hold each others forearms as they embraced, lightly slapping each other on the back, before they parted. 

"Ignoramus," said Jack. Gabriel smiled. 

"Nitwit," Jack huffed a laugh as he turned and started to walk to the door to go back inside. 

"Buffoon," Gabriel followed behind him. 

"Dingbat."

"Dickwad." Both men burst into laughter as they came in the door. 

"Gabe!" you called, "I've been waiting for you, I need you," you said as you waved him over. 

You had all moved to the floor, sitting around the coffee table. Gabriel came over to where you sat.

"We got bored with charades and we're about to play Texas Hold'em. I don't know what to do."

Gabriel lowered himself to the floor and pulled you onto his lap as he scoot closer to the table. 

"I got you baby."

"This just got a whole lot more interesting," said Jesse. 

"I think I'll join in for this," Jack called from the kitchen, "What are we gambling with?" 

"Snack mix pieces," you replied. 

He got a beer out the refrigerator and came and took a seat on the floor. 

"Hey, can I get one of those?" asked Jesse. 

"No!" Jack and Gabriel answered in unison. 

"The dad's have spoken," Jessica laughed. 

"Who's dad!?" exclaimed Jack, looking scandalized. 

Genji served as dealer and explained the value of each of the snack mix pieces then dealt everyone two cards and put three face up in front of himself. You held up your cards for you and Gabriel to see and he started quietly explaining to you what was going on and what was going to happen next. Everyone took turns betting then Genji placed a fourth card face up. Betting started again. Jack and Jessica folded. Genji placed a fifth card.

It was the last betting round. Gabriel had you bet and now you were waiting on Jesse. 

He looked at his cards then at the board cards in front of Genji. 

"I think you two are cheatin'" 

"Oh my God," said Jessica, rolling her eyes. 

"How are we cheating when Genji's the one dealing the cards?" asked Gabriel, "Call, raise, or fold McCree. We don't have all day."

Jesse took a deep breath. 

"I call." He put his snack mix pieces in the middle of the table. 

"Let's see what you got." said Gabriel. 

"Two pair," said Jesse putting his cards down proudly. 

Gabriel huffed a laugh and wrapped his arms around your middle kissing your cheek. 

"Put your cards down Y/N."

You slapped your cards face-up on the table.

"Damn it," said Jesse, disappointed. 

"What do I have?" you asked. 

"Straight." Gabriel answered. 

"Does that mean I win?" you asked. 

"Yes it does."

You smiled. 

"Nice."

"Seven card stud, low cards wild," Jesse said to Gabriel with a competitive look in his eyes. 

"Ok," smirked Gabriel. 

"I'm in too," said Jack. 

"I have feeling this is about to get stupid," said Jessica. 

"Same," you said. 

"Where's your restroom?" she asked. 

"I'll show you."

You both got up and you led her to the bedroom and pointed to the bathroom straight ahead. 

"Thanks."

"Mmm hmm," you replied. 

You went back to the kitchen to get something to drink, while the men played their poker game, voices gradually becoming raised. Jessica came out when she was done and stood next to you filling a cup of her own. 

"So, how are you doing?" she asked you. 

"I'm doing ok. Taking things day by day. Today was a really good day actually."

"Glad to hear it."

"I really needed this. Thank you for coming Jessica," you said. She looked at you kind of surprised. 

"Um, no problem...hey Y/N?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I know when we first met I was sort of a bitch- well let's be honest, I was a complete bitch to you….I'm sorry about all of that, trying to come between you and Commander Reyes, that wasn't cool."

You looked at her. 

"Thank you."

"Yeah. I guess seeing all your things lined up together in the bathroom made me realize how silly all that really was on my part….You make him really happy Y/N."

You smiled. 

"He makes me happy too."

The men started to get louder. 

"You can't accuse us of cheating every time you get a bad hand Jesse," yelled Jack. 

"Play the cards you were dealt and shut up," agreed Gabriel. 

"I am so glad we're not playing for real money," said Genji. 

"Yeah cause we'd get swindled by these two cheats," said Jesse. 

Gabriel and Jack picked up handfuls of snack mix and threw it at Jesse. 

"Hey!" he shouted. 

You and Jessica looked at each other. 

"Stupid," she said. 

"Exactly," you both started to laugh.

Game night went on for a few more hours before everyone decided to call it a night. You stood at the door and gave Jesse and Genji hugs as they left. When it was Jessica's turn you both hesitated unsure if you should hug each other, but you grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace and she smiled as she hugged you back. 

"Come back anytime you guys." you said. 

"She doesn't mean that," said Gabriel as he grabbed your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he walked out to the car with the others. 

They got in the car and took off and you closed the door and started cleaning up with Jack. 

"That was fun," you said. "We should do that more often."

"I could tell you had a good time. It's good to hear you really laugh like that again." You smiled as you put the cups and the plates up and started consolidating the last slices of pizza into one box, thinking to yourself. 

"Jack?" 

"Mmm?" He was gathering the trash in the living room. 

"Do you need me to debrief? I know everyone else did? But do you still need me to?"

He stopped and looked at you. 

"Not really Y/N. I mean, I'd like to know what happened from your perspective, but not in any official capacity. If you ever want to talk to me about it, just as friends, I'm always here."

You nodded. 

"You know what he made me do? Vincenzo, I mean." 

It immediately hit you that before, you couldn't speak his name, now it rolled off your tongue with minimal effect. Jack nodded. 

"Jack, have you ever been undercover?" 

"I've run plenty of missions where other agents went undercover but never got the pleasure to do it myself, and never will now. Everyone knows my face these days." 

You huffed a laugh. Jack reached his hand out to you and you came around the island and took it. He led you to the couch and you sat down together. He put his arm around your shoulders and you laid against him on his chest. 

"What do you want to know?" he asked. 

"I guess, is it normal to confuse your cover's thoughts and feelings with your own?... Don't tell Gabe, but for a minute there, I was actually falling for Vincenzo. But I can't tell if that was me or my cover."

Jack was quiet for a second. 

"I've had some of my agents tell me that it can get confusing for them. Sometimes their cover has to do things and hold certain beliefs that run counter to who they actually are and what they would actually think and do. Having to live a sort of, double life, especially for any significant amount of time, can be taxing on the mind. People start to over identify with their cover. I've heard in extreme cases where a couple agents ended up adopting their persona in situations outside of the mission, into their regular everyday life."

"That's shocking, but I kind of get it. I put a lot of myself into my cover to make her seem more realistic, to make her motives feel authentic and it was kind of exciting, flirting with danger. I could understand slipping into my character outside of the mission if I wanted to experience that kind of excitement. If I felt it was missing in my own life."

"Did you feel like you were missing anything going into this?" 

You took a breath. 

"I guess so. Gabe and I weren't in a good place. He had stopped coming home, stopped talking to me about anything but the mission, and he wouldn't touch me. He made me feel unwanted. I wasn't sure if he still loved me anymore and I was starting to question my love for him, if maybe I wasn't wasting it. Then I had to seduce Vincenzo. I could see that he wanted me, sexually at first, but later on a lot deeper than that. He made me feel appreciated and it wasn't just the obscene amount of money he spent on me, it was the way he made me feel. Like I deserved it just for existing, just because of how wonderful he thought I was. I felt special in a way, Gabriel hadn't made me feel in a long time. I guess I got caught up in it."

"That's actually pretty understandable Y/N." he paused, "I don't know if you know this, but our agents who go undercover have to be trained for it. They spend an extensive amount of time working with psychologists to make sure they're a good mental fit and then they continue to work with them throughout and after the mission to keep their mental health in check, to keep themselves and their persona separate." 

He took another pause, you could tell he was getting slightly agitated. 

"You didn’t get that support and going into that situation with everything that was already going on with you and Gabe….I hate to say this but he set you up for failure Y/N. It's no wonder you had trouble keeping things straight and even now you're still questioning what part of all of this was motivated by your own thoughts and desires. I love Gabe to death, but that's something I'll always be angry at him about. What he did was selfish and I don't care if you agreed to do it. He put his needs before yours and now you're sitting here feeling guilty for having feelings for Vincenzo when Gabriel all but pushed you into his arms."

"Well, in his defense, he said he didn't blame me." you said. 

"He shouldn't, and if he ever tries to throw any of this in your face let me know. I'll ring his fucking neck." You giggled. He kissed your forehead. "Whether those feelings came from you or your cover, given the situation you were put in, I don't think you should feel guilty. From what I heard you showed amazing restraint, despite Vincenzo laying the charm on pretty thick."

You nodded. 

"I guess I did." you paused, "There was this lingerie set he bought me. He wanted me to wear it when I finally decided to sleep with him and I packed it when I went to stay with him. I told Gabriel I packed it because I was actually planning to sleep with Vincenzo, but the truth is I thought I might need it for a bluff of some sort….turns out I was right."

"Seems like you had more of a handle on things then you give yourself credit for. Gabe's right about you, you're incredible. I just hope you stop feeling the need to prove it going forward."

You smiled. 

"I'll be sitting still and minding my own business for the time being."

Suddenly Gabriel came in. 

"I thought you two were going to clean up? It looks the same as it did when I left."

"We were waiting for you," said Jack. 

"I don't know why. I'm going to bed," Gabriel started walking swiftly towards the bedroom. 

"Gabriel!" you shouted. He froze. 

"After I help you guys clean up," he said, turning back around. 

"That's what I thought," you replied. 

"Love you," he said, sheepishly. 

"Yeah, whatever," you chuckled. 

After you all cleaned up, you went to your respective rooms and got in the bed. You laid on Gabriel’s chest as he ran his fingers up and down your arm. 

"I had fun tonight," you said. 

"I could tell. I love hearing your laugh." You smiled. 

"Thank you for putting this together for me."

"You said it's what you needed. I'm here to give you what you need. For once I was able to do something for you."

"What do you mean?" 

He sighed. 

"Sometimes I feel useless, like I'm not doing enough to help you."

"What are you talking about? You do a lot for me Gabriel. Sometimes I think you do too much. Sometimes I feel like you're sacrificing yourself, your own happiness, your own joy to take care of me. It's why I keep pushing for you to take more time for yourself. Maybe it's because to you the things you do for me seem small, but those small things make such a huge difference. Something as simple as you holding me, being affectionate with me, you don't know how much it lightens my mood. On top of that, it reminds me to be kind to myself, to be gentle and loving with myself the way you are with me."

"I didn't know that," he said thoughtfully. You smiled and snuggled into him more. 

"You're doing a lot right now and you don't even realize it. Being next to you like this, feeling your warmth, is soothing and comforting. Your arm around me makes me feel safe. I can hear your heartbeat and focusing on it keeps the intrusive thoughts at bay. That's three different things and all you're doing is laying here with me. You're not useless Gabe, you just don't give yourself credit for the little things because you're used to doing big, important things with Overwatch and Blackwatch. But the small stuff matters too, baby. It matters a lot."

He smiled and kissed your forehead. 

"You're always teaching me things Y/N."

"You teach me things too." you said breathily starting to drift off. "Love you."

"Love you too."

At the beginning of the five month mark Gabriel sat you down for a conversation. 

"Before I went on leave, I had Angelica's 'next of kin'" he made quotes with his fingers, "Go to the apartment and pack everything up. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't think you were in the right headspace for this conversation. But you're doing a lot better these days so I figured now was a good time to spring it on you."

"Ok?"

"I need to know what you want to do with the clothes and everything. As of now, they're in boxes in my office."

You took a breath and looked down thinking to yourself for a couple minutes. 

"Well, anything I came there with, I'd like back."

"Ok."

"The clothes and everything Vincenzo bought me….I want that stuff donated to a women's shelter. Everything but the Dracon bag. I think I earned that stupid bag so I'm keeping it." You looked up at Gabriel, grabbing his hands and he stroked yours with his thumbs, "I don't want it brought here though. I don't want to see it. I don't think I can do that right now."

"What do you want me to do with it?" he asked. 

You took another breath, thinking. 

"Can we get a vault or safe-deposit box somewhere and put it in there?" 

Gabriel nodded. 

"I think that's do-able."

"Then let's do that. That bag is going to put my children through college, hopefully by then I'll be able to look at it."

"Your children are going to college? What if they want to join Overwatch?" 

You looked at him and smiled a bit but you were a little taken aback by the question and more so by the fact he was asking. 

"They can do what they want, but I'd like them to know they have the option, that the money's there whatever they decide to do." You paused, "Don't you want your children to go to college?"

"I want my children to do what makes them happy. But I wouldn't mind having them follow in their father's footsteps."

"How many little Gabriels and Gabriellas do you want?" you asked 

"Hmm, one of each would be nice. How about you?" 

"I agree one of each would be nice....What about twins?" you asked.

“Two at once is hard, but Marta and Javier manage it somehow. Plus, they have my mother to help out. With everything I do with Blackwatch, going on missions, I’d feel horrible leaving the mother of my children home alone with twins.” He paused, “I have mastered the double arm hold thing though, so there’s that,” he said proudly. “You should have seen me at Mia and Emil’s christening.” 

“You are so silly,” you laughed.

"Speaking of christenings, what’s your thoughts on religion? Would you want your children raised religious?" he asked. 

"Hmm I'm not really a religious person myself but I was raised Christian, baptised and all of that. I think I would want my kids to figure that out for themselves instead of indoctrinating them into something just because I was."

"I agree I'd rather my kids find their own religious path. My mother's Catholic so I was raised Catholic. I was also baptised and we went to mass all the time. All of that fell by the wayside when I joined the military. I still pray every now and then though," he said. You smiled. 

"Me too."

"I pray for you," you both said in unison. You looked at each other and smiled. 

"I was thinking, if you're up for it, maybe we can take a trip for a change of scenery. Jessica offered us her family's cottage a few hours south of here, we just need to tell her when." 

"That sounds really nice. I'm in. Tell Jessica thanks." you said. 

"I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet baby Micah and his dad in [**Gabe Imagines**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24653086)


	28. Being Gabe is Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, the water works have already started for me. Here are the last two chapters of this sordid tale, hope ya'll enjoy.
> 
> Reader and Gabe getting it in all over this chapter.

The week before the six month marker, you and Gabriel packed your bags and headed out to Jessica's cottage for a long three-day weekend. You were on the road for about two and half hours before you pulled up in front of a cute two story cottage. It was secluded and surrounded by meadows of various color flowers and tall grass. The outside of the cottage was covered in white siding, with blue shutters. It had a white wrap-around porch on the main level and a balcony on the upper-level.

You and Gabriel got your bags and made your way inside. You entered into a small foyer which led to the main room which was wide open and separated into a dining area and a main sitting room complete with white couches with lofty cushions and pillows and wooden side tables, all in front of a wood burning fireplace. To the left of the door was a white on white eat-in kitchen. The inside of the cottage was cozy and homey and decorated simply, but beautifully, in whites, greys,and wood tones, with pops of blue here and there.

You went to the dining area, where a large cellophane wrapped gift basket was sitting on the table. There was a note sitting in front of it.

_Y/N and Commander Reyes,_

_Hope you two enjoy your stay. Please think of this as your home away from home. The entire place has been cleaned and aired out for you. Wood has been cut for the fireplace and can be found in the back of the house, and the kitchen has been stocked with food so you can relax without having to worry about groceries for the weekend. I’ve left a little gift for you two, hope you enjoy it. Please give me a call if you have any problems._

_-Jessica_

“Aww that's so sweet.” you said, reaching for the basket. 

Inside were two robes, votive candles, expensive goats milk and honey infused bath and body products, and a box of gourmet chocolates.

Gabriel had taken all the bags upstairs while you had been reading the note and you picked up the gift basket and made your way upstairs to the bedroom. 

The master bedroom was huge and repeated the same color scheme from downstairs. In the middle of the room was a large poster bed with white airy fabric hung from its frame. Across from it were double doors that led out to the balcony. 

Gabriel was sitting on the bed, plugging a charger into his phone 

“This place is amazing,” you said, “peaceful.” He nodded in agreement. “Look what Jessica left us.” You stood in front of him and handed the basket to him and he took it, moving it around as he looked at everything inside.

“You know there’s a tub in the bathroom and there’s bubble bath in here,” he said looking at you with a suggestive smirk. You smiled at him.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” 

“I’m just pointing it out,” he said.

“Mmm hmm. I knew you only wanted to bring me out here so you could get me naked.” He set the basket down on the bed and pulled you between his legs, pecking your mouth.

“And what’s wrong with that?” 

You put your hands over his shoulders and kissed him, his hands starting to roam your back. 

“Nothing really. I’m just nervous.”

You and Gabriel hadn’t had sex since that day in the cabin. With your emotions all over the place and your focus on working through your trauma, you hadn’t felt like it. He had tried to initiate a couple times but realized you just weren’t interested. 

Before all this, when Gabriel was home, you used to have sex several times a week and you worried about not being able to meet his needs. But he never pushed you on it and you found other ways to be intimate without it. Lately, however, you felt your libido starting to return. You hadn’t acted on it but Gabriel could tell in how you touched him, in the way your kisses lingered that you wanted more, but you hesitated.

“What are you nervous about, baby?”

“What if I can’t satisfy you, like I could before?”

“My focus is on satisfying you Y/N. I don’t care about feeling good if you don’t. You set the tone. We can go as slow as you want or if you don't want to do this at all then we don’t have to until you're ready. There's no pressure here.” You nodded. He pecked your lips. “Let’s head to the grocery store in a bit, stock up for the weekend.”

“No need. Jessica hooked us up.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Did she now?”

“Mmm hmm. She’s really sweet.”

“I have no idea who you’re referring to.” You giggled, “You two seem friendlier these days.”

“Yeah, we sort of buried the hatchet at game night.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Life is easier when the womenfolk are getting along.”

“Is that so?” 

Gabriel made to stand up and you backed up to give him space. He grabbed your hand and led you out the room.

“One time a while back, Angela and Ana got into it over something silly, one of the worst weeks of my life.” He led you down the stairs as he continued talking, “I don’t know why they both decided to come to me with their drama, but everyday it was ‘I can’t stand Ana’ this and ‘I can’t stand Angela’ that. Drove me crazy. Then the very next week, they’re the best of friends again. What was the point of all that?” you laughed as you both made your way into the kitchen.

“The way you and Jack fight is just as stupid.”

“I don’t agree. We cuss each other out in the moment, call each other names, then we part ways and that’s the end of it. I might still be pissed off a couple days later, call him a dumbass when we pass in the hall, but we don’t hold on to grudges and we certainly don’t drag other people into it. We act like adults.”

"Adults?! You two fight over the most childish stuff. The last dumb one was about him parking too close to your car. When you're whipping out rulers to measure parking spaces, you’ve officially left the land of maturity.”

“Whatever Y/N.” 

You two started raiding the kitchen, seeing what was available for a quick lunch. You made sandwiches which you paired with chips and fruit and took your meal out onto the front porch. 

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with a light breeze. You and Gabriel ate in silence, but when your meal was finished you felt playful. You stood looking out over the meadow. 

"You see that tree out there?" you pointed. 

"What about it?" 

"Race you." 

"You want to race me?" he asked in disbelief, pointing to himself. "Are you being for real?" 

"I'm for real," you replied with a smirk as you started to stretch, lifting your foot and pulling it back to your butt. Gabriel stood looking amused. 

"You're really serious about this. Ok," he chuckled as he started stretching as well. 

When you were done stretching, you both lined up at a spot in the tall grass. 

"You need me to dumb myself down for you, make it fair?" asked Gabriel. You glared at him. 

"No, no handicaps. You run as fast as you can, I'll run as fast as I can, and we'll see who gets there first." 

"Oh we'll see alright." he said. 

"Ready?" 

You both took a running stance. 

"Go!" 

You both took off running for the tree and immediately you were left behind as Gabriel zoomed ahead of you. You were exerting maximum energy, running as fast as you could, but it was clear you were no competition for him. In fact, Gabriel tapped the tree while you still only were halfway there then turned around and came back to you. 

"Come on Y/N. Let's go!" he said, he looked like he was jogging next to you. You wanted to slap him. "This is taking too long."

Suddenly he scooped you up into his arms bridal style and took off running as you shrieked and laughed. When he got to the tree he started spinning around in circles while you kicked your legs and screamed with laughter. 

He finally stopped and set you down. You felt dizzy and slightly nauseous and you bent over, hands on your knees, catching your breath. 

"You ok?" he asked, amused.

"I just need a second. This probably wasn't the smartest idea right after lunch."

You took a few seconds to confirm you weren't going to throw up, then you and Gabriel sat cross-legged in front of each other in the grass, which came up to your shoulders. There were yellow dandelions peppered into the grass. Gabriel plucked one and tucked it behind your ear, which made you smile. 

"You're pretty out here. You're pretty everywhere, but you're particularly pretty out here, surrounded by nature." Your cheeks heated and you looked down. He smiled and gently grabbed your chin, lifting your head. "I can still make you blush."

You grabbed Gabriel’s wrist and lightly held it as you looked at each other, smiling with your eyes. He moved his thumb from your chin to your lips gently tracing them. You slowly parted them and took his thumb into your mouth, sucking on it. He took a deep inhale as he watched you then slowly pulled his thumb out, dragging it down your lips to your chin then your neck, leaving a light trail of saliva as he did. 

He lifted his hand to your cheek, holding it as he leaned forward to press his lips to yours in a gentle kiss. He pulled back slightly, looking at you and you opened your eyes then closed them again as you pressed forward for more. You placed your hand on his cheek and your kiss became deeper. Next thing you knew, you were leaning backwards, laying on the ground and Gabriel was on top of you and your lips and tongues were everywhere as you kissed urgently. 

You continued to kiss as you reached for his pants and he reached for yours, undoing them, pulling them down, taking them off, your panties and his boxers following closely behind. You lost your shirts and you lost your bra and it was now just your naked bodies on the grass, kissing and holding each other as you rolled to your sides facing one another, kissing, and humming, and writhing against each other. He kneaded and caressed your breast and you did the same to his chest, sliding your hand to his neck, grabbing his nape, snaking your fingers into his hair, before you both ended up back on your back. 

You broke your kiss looking at each other. You caressed his cheek and he put his hand over yours and turned his face into your palm kissing it, trailing his kisses down your wrist and arm and back up again, before he looked back at you. 

"Go slow," you whispered. 

He nodded, then ran his hand down your side to your thigh rubbing it then gripping it to hike it up onto his waist before he reached between you to line himself up with your entrance and started to slowly push in. You let out a combination of a yelp and a gasp as your walls gave way to accommodate Gabriel, the slight ache reminding you just how long it had been. He lowered himself to you holding your right cheek as he pressed kisses to the left and you gripped his wrist tightly, eyes clamped shut, as he continued to spread you open until he could go no further. 

You both sat still for a moment, breathing deeply. He kissed your cheek a few more times. You were tense and he needed you to relax a bit before he could move. 

"You don't have to be nervous sweetheart. You're in charge here. I'm only going at your pace, I'm only doing what feels good to you. The second it doesn't we stop. Ok?" You nodded, "Let me take care of you baby. Let me give you what you need." You nodded again and he smiled as he felt your walls relax. "There you go sweet girl. I'm gonna move, ok?" 

"Ok," you breathed. 

He kept his eyes on you as he pulled his hips back some and slowly pushed back in making you gasp and blink. He did it again pulling back a bit more and pushing back in and you whimpered. Again, he pulled back more and thrust back in and you threw your head back and moaned. 

"There it is," he breathed, smiling as he repeated what he did and you reacted the same, "Right there baby?" 

"Right there" you moaned. 

He set a steady pace, watching you moan and arch underneath him, watching the pleasure on your face as you tensed less and enjoyed him more. You dug your nails into his back and began to rock your hips into his thrusts as you got more into it. 

"Harder," you whispered and he gave you what you asked for his thrusts driving home with more force than before. "Oh my God….Gabriel."

"You like that?" 

"Yes," you moaned loudly, "Gabriel, baby don't stop…go faster." He did what you asked picking up the pace and you opened your legs wider around him, crossing your feet behind him. Gabriel began to suck and nip at your neck, sending sensation shooting down your spine and you slid your hand into his hair and gripped it making him groan as he continued to pound you into the grass. 

"Turn me on my side." you said. 

He sat up quickly, pulling out of you, turning you on your side, and laying back down behind you. He pulled your leg onto his and you wrapped your foot around his leg. He wasted no time guiding himself back into you. 

"Fuck me," you said and he reached under you in order to grip both your hips then he proceeded to rapidly jackhammer into you, yanking you back into his quick hard thrusts. 

"H-o-o-o-l-l-l-y-y-f-f-f-u-u-u-c-c-c-k-k!" you moaned loud and drawn out. Gabriel almost lost momentum trying not to laugh. 

He kept up his rapid pace for a bit before he rolled you both on to his back. He stopped for a second so you two could arrange yourselves. He bent his knees, planting his feet on the ground and you placed your feet on his thighs then planted your hands on his chest behind you. He gripped your hips tightly and he was back at it, rapidly pistoning up into you, holding you in place as you threw your head back and screamed. 

He was fucking you so fast the sensation of him moving in and out of you was absolutely incredible and you quickly realized, unsustainable, as you felt your climax build up rapidly. Suddenly the world went white as your orgasm slammed into you making you tense so tightly you thought your bones might snap. 

You clamped down on Gabriel hard and now you were both shouting your orgasms into the universe. Gabriel reached between your legs and started rapidly rubbing your clit and you felt your contractions inside intensify. 

"Squeeze me baby, fuck baby squeeze me," he groaned through his clenched teeth, his eyes closed, ecstasy on his face as he slowly pumped his hips until you milked him dry. 

At some point you relaxed and collapsed on top of Gabriel. He wrapped his arm around your chest, both of you panting hard. Suddenly Gabriel started to laugh and you started laughing too. 

"We're outside Y/N." he laughed. 

"This was fucking wild," you laughed.

"I think I have dandelions stuck to my ass," he said. 

"Me too."

You both laughed harder, tears coming out of your eyes. 

You rolled to your sides eventually calming down. 

"Oh man….this is the best sex we've had in months," Gabriel breathed. 

"I know," you agreed. "To think I was worried about not being up to the task."

"I was never worried. All we need to do is connect, the rest takes care of itself." He wrapped his arm around you, rubbing your stomach, placing kisses on your shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for round two," he said. 

"Out here?" 

"Wherever."

"Let's head back to the house," you said 

"Ok."

You and Gabriel sat up. He stood and pulled you up and you both gathered your clothes into your arms not bothering to put them back on. 

You made your way back to the house, Gabriel taking the opportunity to walk behind you and admire your backside as you went. He went from admiring, to pinching, to rubbing and slapping and grabbing. 

You reached the porch and Gabriel abandoned his clothes and made you drop yours as he grabbed you under your arms and lifted you, carrying you inside and up the stairs. He made it to the first landing, where the stairs curved to the left and that's as far as you got before he put you down and had you get on all fours on the large landing stair. He sat on the stairs below and leaned back so you straddled his head and he began to lick, suck, kiss, and slurp at your clit and your folds while he gripped and pulled on your ass. You rocked your pussy on his tongue and gripped his hair and moaned and squealed and trembled until you were an oversensitive mess, begging him to stop, trying to crawl away as he used his fingers to touch the places his tongue could no longer reach as you tried to get away. 

You soon made it to the bedroom where you and Gabriel spent the rest of the day bringing each other to orgasm over and over again until you were both too exhausted for another round. 

"I think we overdid it." you said weakly. 

The sun had gone down a while ago and you both laid on top of the jumble of tangled sheets on your backs, naked, holding hands. The pillows had found their way to the floor hours ago. 

"No such thing," he replied. 

"My muscles beg to differ."

"Same," he said. You giggled. 

"Gabriel I'm hungry." you whined. 

"I am too."

"Go get us some food."

"Why do I have to go?" 

"Cause you have more stamina than me."

"Whatever extra stamina I had went into that last orgasm. I'm a mere mortal now just like you."

You huffed a sigh. 

"I want to get up but I'm not strong enough."

"You're plenty strong Y/N. Stronger than me. If all of this has taught me one thing it's that I've wildly underestimated you."

You looked at him. 

"Really?" 

You agreed with him but you were surprised he was finally admitting it. 

"Yes really." he took a breath, "My goal has always been to protect you. Which is all well and good but somewhere along the way, probably after I saw the photos from your attack, I got this idea about you that's clearly never been true. I thought you were fragile, easily broken. I guess it was something about looking at your little body beaten and mangled like that, tubes coming out of everywhere, you just looked so small, so delicate and I just felt compelled to do whatever I could to protect that fragile little girl. She can know no pain, or heartache, grey skies, or ugliness because if she ever broke like that again she'd surely never recover."

He turned on his side, propping his head on his hand and put his other hand on your cheek, stroking it with his thumb. 

"That's not you Y/N. That's never been you. I've told people that you're one of the strongest women I know, but I've realized I never fully believed that. I've sold you short so many times. I've had faith in you, but it's only gone so far. I've trusted you but not completely. I thought you were strong but not strong enough and especially not strong enough for me and all the shit that comes with me."

He paused looking at you and you grabbed his wrist stroking it with your thumb. He continued. 

"You've been showing me this whole time we've been together how wrong I was, how formidable you are and up until recently I've been too stubborn to see it." He took a breath, "Because in actuality it benefited me for you to be fragile, for you to need my over-protection. It made me feel needed, it made me feel important, it made me feel like I deserved to stand next to someone as amazing as you. But after game night, you put into words what you've been teaching me all along. I don't need to do that. I don't need to take on this big, all important job of protecting you from life, from my truth. I don't need to be the hero. Being Gabe, no matter how small that role might be and how flawed and ugly he is, no matter what he may have done in the past, it's enough. I'm enough."

You placed your hand on his cheek, tears filling your eyes.

"You've always been enough, more than enough." you said. 

"I'm so sorry Y /N. Everything you've been going through these last six months is my fault. You came on that mission feeling like you had to prove yourself to me…I never should have put you in that position. I never should have involved you in any of it. But once again, I needed to prove that I'm the hero, that I can set things right. I sacrificed you to my ego and I'm sorry for that Y/N, I truly am."

"I know you are. I know how guilty you feel. You don't need to say it, I see it. I see how much of yourself you sacrifice to be there for me. I don't want you to beat yourself up about this anymore. Vincenzo is dead and I am making progress everyday. I want us to move forward, together. I don't want you stuck feeling guilty. Put it behind you Gabriel and I'll keep working on doing the same. Clean slate…for real this time."

He smiled. 

"What does that mean?" 

"Don't think I've forgotten how you tried to throw the Charity situation back in my face. You said clean slates then you brought that shit up again."

"You're right, I did. I was jealous and hurt in the moment and I wanted to hurt you too, that was wrong."

"And if you ever call me a whore again, I swear I will leave you Gabriel Reyes, without a second thought."

"You'd have every right to."

He leaned down and pecked your mouth a few times. 

"Clean slates. I promise," he said. 

"Good. Now help me hobble my ass downstairs so I can stuff my face." 

He chuckled as he got off the bed and grabbed Jessica's gift basket off the floor. He opened it and took out the robes. One was clearly larger than the other and he unfolded the smaller one and opened it up, then held it up for you to put on. 

"Ma'am."

You rolled yourself off the bed and stood up, your legs shaky as your muscles screamed in pain. You scoot your feet over to him and slipped your arm into the robe, he helped you put on the other arm and you wrapped it around you and loosely tied the tie. Gabriel put his robe on and wrapped his arm around your waist. 

"These are really nice robes," you said as he slowly walked you out of the bedroom and down the stairs. 

"Mmm hmm."

The two of you raided the kitchen again and sat on the floor in front of the refrigerator with your haul. 

Gabriel piped whipped cream into your mouth from a can and topped it off with a strawberry he had cut the top off of. He went back to working on cutting the tops off the others. 

"This isn't bothering you, right?" he asked. 

"I can watch you use the knife. I just don't want to use it myself." He nodded. It was a testament to the progress you had been making. Before, you couldn’t look at a knife without it sending you into a panic.

"You'll get there," he said. 

"I noticed a bottle of champagne in the fridge. Should we pop that open?" you asked. 

"Uh… Let's save that for now." He had plans for that champagne. 

You shrugged. 

"Ok."

When you two finished eating, Gabriel gathered some wood from outside and got the fireplace going and you settled on the couch together. You talked and ate the chocolates from the gift basket until you eventually fell asleep.


	29. Fully Known and Loved by You

The next morning, Gabriel woke on the couch, alone, to the smell of coffee and bacon. 

He sat up rubbing his eyes, then looked at the fireplace, the fire from last night long burnt out. He got up and made his way to the kitchen. On the table was a tray with an empty mug and an insulated carafe of coffee, a plate of eggs and bacon, and a plate of toast. Jars of peach and grape preserves sat closed on the table next to a closed butter dish. Gabriel smiled at the spoon you left for him to butter his toast. You left a note. 

_I'm outside. Already ate._

Gabriel poured himself some coffee and put butter and peach preserves on a piece of toast and made his way outside with his mug and his bread. He walked around the porch until he spotted you in the distance walking through one of the meadows. He set his mug on the railing, watching you in awe. 

It was another warm, sunny, breezy day and you had on an airy cap-sleeved white linen dress that hit at your calf, your hair was down, and you were barefoot. You were twirling a piece of grass in your fingers and you stopped walking to look at something. The way the sunlight hit your dress made it appear almost sheer and Gabriel fixated on the silhouette of your body as your dress and your hair blew in the breeze. 

He went inside and quickly went upstairs to get his phone, then went out on the balcony with it. Luckily, you were still standing there looking gorgeous and he was able to take a few photos of you before you started walking again, then sat down in the grass. 

Gabriel took off his robe and got in the shower. He quickly dressed then went downstairs to finish his breakfast. He quickly downed his coffee, then made his way out in the meadow to where you were sitting. 

You sat to the side with your knees bent and you heard Gabriel come up behind you and sit down. You were looking to the side and he reached out and tucked your hair behind your ear so he could see your face. 

"It's beautiful out here," you said. 

"You're beautiful out here," he said. You smiled. 

"It's so peaceful, restorative, all this fresh air. I didn't know how needed this was. We really need to thank Jessica for this."

"We can get her something when we get back home."

You nodded, then got up on your knees, hiking up your dress a bit so you could turn and face Gabriel, then you sat back down and took his hand into yours and played with his fingers. 

"Baby, next week it'll be six months since you went on leave. Have you thought about a plan to return to Blackwatch?" you asked. 

"Trying to get rid of me huh?" 

"It's not that. I mean, I love having you around. If we could do this forever that'd be a dream, but we can't. We're both going to have to get back to our lives eventually."

"I know. I've talked to Jack about a phased approach. Come back part-time for a while until we get things with Blackwatch up and running again, see how things go with you, then step it up as we go along." You nodded. 

"When?" 

"In a couple weeks maybe."

You took a deep breath. You had become dependent on Gabriel and his constant presence over the months. The thought of him not being there in the same capacity anymore made you feel anxious but you knew it had to be this way. Still, you couldn't help the tears that filled your eyes as you realized how soon that would be and you quickly looked away from him. 

He held slid his hand over your cheek, fingers in your hair as he held your face, stroking with his thumb. 

"It's ok Y/N," he whispered. 

"I'm sorry," you said, voice trembling as you fought to hold back your tears. 

"This is just as hard for me, believe me. I've loved all this time I've gotten to spend with you. Whether you were throwing a tantrum, or waking up screaming in the middle of the night," you sniffed as you looked up at him and smiled a bit through your tears, "or just looking for me to hold you after a flashback." He grabbed your hands and kissed them. "I've cherished every second Y/N. I've told you my secrets, we've shared each other's pain and we've both grown as friends and lovers. I'd do this again in a heartbeat….under more positive circumstances of course."

You both laughed. 

"Of course." you sniffed.

"I'm not going anywhere. Not really. We're still together, you still have me. This is still 'The Gabriel and Y/N Show.’" You giggled. 

"Why is your name first?" you asked. 

"We can put your name first, I'm just happy to star next to you." He let go of your hand and wiped your tears with his thumbs then he leaned in and kissed you. "We still have a good amount of time to spend together before I go back. Let's make the most of it."

You got up and turned around again, sitting between Gabriel’s legs with your back to his chest. He pulled you close to him and wrapped his arms around you, leaning down to kiss your cheek. 

"Did you know when you stand in the sunlight, I can see your body through your dress?" he asked 

You huffed a laugh 

"No, I didn't know that."

"It's a beautiful thing to see in the morning. Your dress blowing in the breeze and your perfect tits through the fabric," you laughed, "Really gets a man going."

"Oh does it?" he leaned forward and grabbed your dress pulling it up, exposing your legs and your panties. 

"It does," he said low, reaching into your panties, gently rubbing at your nub. You sighed. 

"Didn't you get enough yesterday," you breathed. 

"I can never get enough of you," he said. 

He removed his hand and grabbed you under your knees, turning you so he cradled you against him in his arms. He looked at you as he reached back under your dress and pulled your panties off, then proceeded to play between your legs with his fingers and whisper sweet and nasty things to you in english and spanish. 

You kept your eyes on each other, your hand on his cheek as you panted and softly moaned while he pumped his fingers inside you and rubbed your clit with his thumb to orgasm. When you calmed he got up, lifting you and carrying you back to the house, upstairs to the bedroom where you took off your clothes and kissed and manually stimulated each other until you both fell asleep. 

It was early evening when you woke in bed alone, the sun was just getting ready to set. You got up and put some clean panties and your dress back on then went downstairs. 

Gabriel was in the kitchen cutting little fingerling potatoes in half and putting them in a bowl. 

"Hey," you said. 

He looked up at you.

"Hey. I was thinking we could make dinner together. I'm just finishing up the prep work."

You came in and washed your hands then stood next to him. 

"What are we having chef?" 

"Steak, seasoned potatoes, sautéed spinach."

"Sounds delicious."

He finished cutting up the last potato and handed you the bowl.

"You mind doctoring these up while I get the steaks on?" 

"Sure."

You both went about your tasks in a comfortable silence. When you finished seasoning the potatoes you put them on a sheet pan and popped them into the oven Gabriel had already preheated. 

Gabriel backed away from the stove.

"Keep an eye on these, I have to go do….things," he said as he left the kitchen. 

"Ok?" 

He left the kitchen and went to the dining area. There was a shelving unit across from the table and he went to a cabinet on the bottom and pulled two silver candle holders and a pack of long candles out from exactly where Jessica said they would be. He set them on the dining table an equal distance apart and attempted to put a candle in each of them. He realized his hands were shaking as he did this and he stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. 

"Calm down," he whispered to himself. 

He opened his eyes, then continued with his task. He pat his pocket making sure he had what he needed in it. Then he took out his phone checking that what he needed on it was queued up and ready to go. 

He made his way upstairs and got the pack of votive candles Jessica had given you both and went back downstairs to place them around the dining area to really set the mood, lighting them and the candles on the table as he went. He turned off the lights and drew the shades on a few of the windows. 

"Perfect," he said. 

He took a deep breath, hoping to stop his heart from pounding so hard, then made his way back into the kitchen. 

"How we looking?" he asked. 

"Steaks are coming along nicely, potatoes smell fabulous. We just need to get the spinach on."

"I'll take care of that. Can you grab a couple wine glasses and that bottle of red out the refrigerator?" 

"Got it," you said. 

Soon the steaks were done and Gabriel took them out of the pan to rest. He poured a bag of pre-rinsed spinach into a saute pan with some oil, butter, salt and pepper and got that going while you pulled the potatoes out of the oven. You got plates out the cabinet and the wine bottle opener out of a drawer. 

Gabriel turned the spinach off, then uncorked the wine and poured two glasses. 

"Can you take these to the dining table? Then have a seat. I'll bring your food out."

You nodded and left the kitchen with both glasses. You gasped as you entered the candlelit dining area, smiling to yourself as you set Gabriel’s glass at one end of the table and took your seat at the other. The table leaf was out so it only sat four and there wasn't much distance between you. 

As you sat and sipped at your wine, you ruminated on the signs you had let slip by that something was amiss. Gabriel was sort of dressed up. He was sporting a nice button up and jeans and his curls were slicked back. You smiled as you registered the familiar musk of his cologne. A scent your nose had unconsciously been blind to while you had been cooking. Caught totally unawares, you allowed a self-deprecating sigh to leave your lips. The sly fox. 

You suddenly thought about what you had on. You had rolled out of bed and put on the dress you had on earlier. You felt raggedy compared to him. You stood and looked at yourself in the mirror on the wall behind you and smoothed your hair down. You thought it looked ok, but just ok. It wasn't all over the place so that was a plus. Then you huffed a breath into your hand trying to see how fresh it smelled. 

"What are you doing?" asked Gabriel, amused as he stood there with your plates. 

"Why didn't you tell me we're doing a date night type of thing? I would have freshened up," you said, re-taking your seat.

"You look fine Y/N, beautiful." He set your plate in front of you then kissed the top of your head. He set a fork down next to your plate then took his plate to his seat. 

You looked at the feast you both had prepared. Gabriel had cut up your steak for you in smallish pieces. Sometimes it felt infantilizing having to have your food cut up for you, but until you were ready to handle knives again this is what it had to be. Besides, whatever negativity you felt about it quickly disappeared when you saw he had arranged the pieces into the shape of a heart. 

"Gabe this is so cute," you said. He smiled. 

"Thought you'd like that. 

The two of you started to eat contentedly. 

"We did a really good job," he said, "The potatoes are excellent."

"Your spinach is amazing, very flavorful and I don't know what you marinated this steak in but it's delicious….We make a good team."

He looked at you. 

"My thoughts exactly."

You continued your meal engaging in light conversation, which you continued once your plates were clear. 

Gabriel took a large gulp from his wine, then looked at you across the table. 

"Y/N, will you do something with me?"

"Something like…?"

"Will you dance with me?" You looked at him, surprised. "Just a slow dance, nothing too crazy." 

You hesitated for a bit. This would be your first time dancing since forever. The thought scared you a little but you figured why not do it with Gabriel and if it became too much for you he'd know what to do, he'd keep you safe. You answered with a smile. 

"Sure Gabriel, I'd love to dance with you." He smiled back. 

"Can you turn on that stereo over there? I'll sync my phone to it so we can have a little music to set the mood."

You got up and walked to the shelving unit across from the table. You hit the 'on' button on the stereo and in seconds music was softly coming out of its speakers. 

***Known by Tauren Wells***

_It's so unusual it's frightening  
You see right through the mess inside me  
And you call me out to pull me in  
You tell me I can start again  
And I don't need to keep on hiding_

You adjusted the volume so it was a little bit louder then turned around to go back to Gabriel. When you did, he was standing a short distance behind you with something in his hand. He slowly dropped to one knee and opened what you realized was a box and held it out to you. Inside was a ring, sparkling in the candlelight. Suddenly, you realized what was happening and you put your hand on your chest and froze. 

_I'm fully known and loved by you  
You won't let go no matter what I do  
And it's not one or the other  
It's hard truth and ridiculous grace  
To be known fully known and loved by you  
I'm fully known and loved by you_

"Y/N-" Gabriel started. 

"Yes," you blurted out. 

"I-" He tried to start again. 

"Yes, yes, yes," you said, dropping down to your knees with him. You grabbed his face and started planting kisses everywhere, "Yes, I'll marry you, yes, yes."

He looked stuck for a moment then he started laughing as he lowered his knee to the ground, scooting closer to you as he wrapped his arms around you, still holding the ring. 

"What's so funny?" you asked, smiling. 

"It's just…." he laughed some more before he finally started to calm, "I had a whole speech planned and everything. I was a nervous wreck about it."

"I'm sorry, baby. Please, do your speech. You want me to stand back up?"

He shook his head. 

"No, it's fine. This is perfect actually. It's so you." He kissed your nose, "I make plans-" you smiled and finished the statement. 

"And I blow them all to hell." 

You both laughed. 

"The ring," you said, "Show me the ring."

He brought the box in front of you so you could see it. You gasped. 

The ring had a rose gold band, half of which was in an infinity twist which was inlaid with small round diamonds. The infinity twist on either side of the band led to a large pear-shaped morganite stone which was surrounded by a halo of small diamonds that matched the ones in the band. It came with a two-sided ring guard enhancer which was also rose gold. Both sides formed a chevron 'V' created by a pattern of small round and marquise cut diamonds coming to a point around the top and bottom of the ring. The main ring nested into the ring guard and when worn all together it looked like you had on three rings and made the main ring look much larger almost like a huge starburst on your finger. 

"This is so beautiful Gabriel. I've never seen anything like this."

"I had it made." You looked at him. 

"Really?" He nodded. 

He took it out the box, ring guard and all, and slipped it onto your finger. It fit perfectly. 

Your eyes filled with tears as you held your hand out and looked at it. You grabbed his face and pressed your lips to his and he kissed you back. When you pulled back you realized his eyes were full of tears too.

"I love you," he said. 

"I love you too," you replied, your tears spilling over your lashes.

He put his hands on your face wiping them away with his thumbs before he sweetly kissed you again. 

"Should we have that dance?" he asked

You nodded. He stood up, pulling you up with him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and restarted the song, the song he had chosen, with some help of course, to convey some of how he felt as he proposed to you. He pulled you close, holding your hand to his chest as he wrapped his arm around you. You laid against him, your arm around him and you began to slow dance. You silently cried tears of happiness as you held onto him and he kissed the top of your head. 

_How real, how wide  
How rich, how high is your heart  
I cannot find the reasons why  
You give me so much  
How real, how wide  
How rich, how high is your heart  
Now, I cannot find the reasons why  
You give me so much_

Gabriel let you go and held your hand in his as he started twirling you around. He held his arm up slowly spinning you under it from one side and then the other making you smile and giggle. Then he spun you out and he thought back to the first time he had ever danced salsa with you, how beautiful you looked, your hair and your dress, the smile on your face as you twirled away from him. He thought you looked even more beautiful now and he pulled you back to himself and dipped you just like he had then. You smiled up at him and he pulled you up right. 

_I'm fully known and loved by you  
You won't let go no matter what I do  
And it's not one or the other  
It's hard truth and ridiculous grace  
To be known fully known and loved by you  
I'm fully known and loved by you_

_It's so unusual it's frightening  
I'm fully known and loved by you_

The music had stopped and it was quiet now, but you held onto each other and continued to slow dance around the room. 

Eventually you found yourselves outside on the porch swing. Gabriel’s arm around you as you silently swung back and forth. 

"Can I tell you something?" Gabriel said. 

"Mmm hmm,"

"I seriously think we should bring our babies home."

You scrunched your face in confusion. 

"What?" 

"Our...your eggs. There are plenty of top of the line facilities out here and I'd feel much better if they were closer to home. I've been doing research on these places. Anything could happen Y/N. I want my babies here where I have someone I can look in face and hold accountable if something goes wrong and so I can put the fear of God in them to make sure it doesn't."

You giggled. 

"Your babies, huh?" you said 

"Our potential babies." You smiled. 

"We can look into it when we get back."

"Good," he said. 

You both went silent for a while. 

"When did you know?" you asked 

"Know what?" 

"That you wanted to marry me."

"To be honest, I knew as far back as Lily and Eddie's wedding. Your friend Nanette called me out on it. But I wasn't ready then because I was still underestimating you." He paused, "Then the night of the operation to take down Vincenzo’s trafficking ring, you were sitting there right in the middle of the depths of your own trauma, pain, and brokenness and your soul focus was on the well-being of those women and children. You have this deep compassion about you, this big, warm and open heart. You love me when I'm at my best. But somehow, you also find a way to love me when I'm at my worst. You find a way to love me when I can't find love for myself. You show me where to look. That night as I watched you, I finally realized that if I didn't make you my wife I'd be making the biggest mistake of my lifetime."

You giggled. 

"I'm going to be your wife. I'm going to be Mrs. Gabriel Reyes."

"Has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" You nodded. 

Suddenly a shooting star crossed the sky. You saw it and closed your eyes and made a quick wish. When you opened them, you saw another, then another, then several more. You gasped and Gabriel followed your gaze. 

"What's happening?" you asked. 

You both got up and walked off the porch and into the grass looking up at the sky. By now the sky was filled with hundreds of streaks of light. It almost looked like the sky was falling around you. 

"It's a meteor shower," said Gabriel, he turned to you, "Hurry, let's go watch it from the balcony."

You turned and rushed inside, Gabriel following behind you. You ran up the stairs to the bedroom and opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. Gabriel was a few beats behind and when he finally came out he was carrying two champagne glasses and the bottle from the fridge. He popped it open and poured you both a glass, then came over and handed your glass to you and stood next to you putting his arm around your waist. You laid your head against him. 

"It's like our own personal fireworks show," he said. 

Suddenly you lifted your head, "Tony!" you exclaimed. 

"Tony?" 

"Tony and I used to go up on the roof at Overwatch sometimes."

"Oh you did huh? You know no ones supposed to be up there."

"You can punish me for it later Commander," he huffed a laugh, "Anyways, we were looking at the stars one time and he told me that some cultures believe a meteor shower signifies spirits crossing over to the otherside." You paused and took a breath holding back tears. "It's Tony. He's saying goodbye."

Gabriel held up his glass and you did the same. 

"To Tony," he said, getting misty-eyed. "May you finally rest in peace."

"To Tony," you repeated, sniffling a little.

You both sipped your champagne, then Gabriel pulled you in close and kissed your forehead. You stayed out there watching the meteor shower until the shooting stars became less and less, sightings becoming far and few between. 

You both went inside. Gabriel looked at his phone on the nightstand, he had a missed call. 

"Y/N, come here," he said. 

You walked around to his side of the bed and he showed you the missed call. You smiled. 

"Call her back," you said. 

You both sat down on the edge of the bed. He held you close and started a video call. 

"Mijo! Mija! How are you two doing?" said Gabriel’s mother. 

You and Gabriel were all smiles. 

"She said yes máma," said Gabriel. You held your hand up so she could see the ring on it. 

"We're getting married," you said. Gabriel kissed your cheek. 

"Oh I'm so happy!" exclaimed his mother, her eyes staring to tear up, "Let me get Marta." She turned from the phone, "Marta! Come here!" she yelled. 

You and Gabriel laughed. 

"Yes ma, what is it? Why are you crying?" answered Marta outside of view of the camera. 

"Come here. Your brother's getting married."

Suddenly Marta and Gabriel’s mother were on the camera. Gabriel’s mother was wiping her eyes with a tissue. 

"Oh my God she said yes!" exclaimed Marta, "Hold up the ring Y/N," you held up your hand again, "It looks beautiful on you," she gushed, "You did really good Gabe, really really good. I'm so happy for you two."

“Máma, you ok?" said Gabriel. 

"I'm fine my son," she sniffed, "I'm just so very happy."

You started fanning your face feeling tears come to your own eyes. 

"You're gonna make me cry too," you said. 

"I'm so proud to have you for a daughter Y/N, so so proud," she sniffed. That set off the water works officially for you. "I know your mother would be so pleased."

You nodded, wiping away tears. Gabriel held you closer, leaning his head on yours. 

"I would never presume to try to replace your mother, but it would give my heart joy if you thought of me as máma number two. You're my daughter now. Anything you need, advice, an ear to listen, recipes, anything, you come to máma, ok mija?" 

You nodded, "Thank you."

Marta was fanning her eyes now as they became watery. 

"Oof! I can not take all these emotions," she said, "Have you guys set a date?" 

"We just got engaged Marta," said Gabriel. 

"So? You should get a jump on your wedding plans. Venues book up quick. Some places require notice a year in advance. If you want to get married in the place that you want, you guys should start thinking about it now….Not to worry. I've done this before. I'll fly out there and help you guys get started."

"For the love of God, do not fly out here." said Gabriel. 

"I'll call you Y/N, see when the best time is to visit," continued Marta, "Maybe I'll bring the twins."

"Marta!" shouted Gabriel, exasperated. 

You and Gabriel’s mother started laughing. 

"Marta leave them alone," said Gabriel's mother. 

You could hear children screaming in the background. 

"Whatever. I gotta go rangle my kids. Congrats you guys. Peace out," she said, throwing up a peace sign before she left the view of the camera. 

"Congratulations you two," said Gabriel’s mother, "Let me know when you start solidifying plans. I'm going to let you two go celebrate now. Love you both."

"Love you too," You and Gabriel said in unison. 

You all hung up. 

You and Gabriel got dressed for bed and got under the covers together, holding one another as you faced each other, pecking each other's lips. 

"So, when we get married, do I get your rank too? Do I become Mrs. Commander Reyes?" he started chuckling. 

"I don't think it works like that Y/N."

"Why not? I think I've earned the position."

"I think there's a whole lot more involved."

"Hmm if you say so."

You looked at each other. 

"You make me so happy Y/N, happier than I ever imagined I deserved."

"You make me happy too."

"From now on the Vault of Gabriel is wide open. I promise to tell you everything. I want to share my joy, my pain, my shame, my grief, my wins and loses, all of me. From now on, I'm giving all of myself to you."

"Well you know you already have all of me. Oddly enough, you were the one who taught me how to open myself up, let you in," you said. 

"I was?" 

"Yeah you were." you laughed, "You never take your own advice."

"You know me, do as I say-" 

"Not as I do. I know." He grabbed your face. 

"You do know and by the time we get married, you'll know me inside and out. I swear it, mi amor...my wife." You smiled and grabbed his face. 

"My husband."

"I love you," he said. 

"I love you too."

"Always," you both said in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're at the end of yet another fic in this series. Its always so bittersweet for me and there are never enough tissues 😭😭. 
> 
> I had so much fun writing this and interacting with you guys in the comments. Thank you to everyone who read this fic and everyone who left feedback in the form of a kudo or a comment, I appreciate you all. 
> 
> Next up is the Vincenzo/Reader fic to close out this part of the timeline, then we'll continue with Gabe/Reader because I have to marry these people off, yay! Stay tuned!!


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